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Tag: Bangladesh

  • PM Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh wins contentious poll

    PM Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh wins contentious poll

    Sheikh Hasina, the leader of Bangladesh, won the election for the fourth time in a row, even though some people had concerns about how the election was handled.

    Ms Hasina’s party, the Awami League, and its friends won 223 out of 300 seats in the election. This means Ms. Hasina will be the leader for the next five years.

    The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is not going to participate in the election, so it is expected that Ms Hasina’s party and their friends will win all the seats.

    The BNP said the poll was not fair.

    On Sunday, many BNP leaders and supporters were arrested before the result.

    According to the official numbers, only about 40% of people voted, but some people think that even those numbers might be too high. In 2018, more than 80% of the eligible voters participated in the election.

    Political expert Badiul Alam Majumder said to the BBC that the election commission was increasing the number of voters who turned up to vote. “He said that the number of people who voted, reported by the election commission, doesn’t seem accurate compared to what we have seen from various sources and media reports. ”

    Independents, most of them from the Awami League, won 45 seats and the Jatiya Party won eight seats. The results will be announced on Monday.

    Ms Hasina is serving her fifth term as prime minister. She first became prime minister in 1996 and was re-elected in 2009. She has been in power ever since.

    “I am doing everything I can to make sure that democracy stays in this country,” she said to reporters when she voted.

    Awami League leader Obaidul Quader said that Ms Hasina told party members not to have parades or parties to celebrate their win.

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) thinks that almost 10,000 activists were arrested after a protest on 28 October got violent. At least 16 people died and more than 5,500 were hurt. It said the government is putting the Awami League’s political enemies in prison.

    The Awami League said they did not do the things people accused them of doing.

    Some people are worried that the Awami League winning again might lead to one party having too much power.

    Not many people think the government will ease its strict measures, especially if opposition parties and civil society groups keep questioning its legitimacy.

    The BNP did not participate in the election because the Awami League did not agree to their request for a separate person to run the election.

    Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the BNP, said in an email from London where he has lived since 2008, that our peaceful and non-violent movement will keep going strong.

    Mr Rahman, the son of Ms Hasina’s enemy, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, also said that BNP party workers did not start fires before the election.

    Ms Zia is not allowed to leave her house because she is accused of being involved in corrupt activities.

    In 2018, Mr Rahman was found guilty of planning a grenade attack at a political event in 2004. He was not present at the trial and was given a life sentence in prison. Ms Hasina got hurt and at least 20 other people died in that event.

    “He said that the accusations against me are not true and are based on political revenge. ”

    The BNP told people not to vote.

    Ms Hasina’s supporters say she has brought much-needed political stability to Bangladesh.

    We kept using the democratic process that has given us political stability. Law Minister Anisul Huq thinks that the world should give credit to Sheikh Hasina for that.

    Ms Hasina’s biggest accomplishment in the last 15 years is that she has made the people of Bangladesh feel more confident. “They have started to believe in themselves,” he said.

    Bangladesh looks different under Ms Hasina. The country with mostly Muslim people used to be very poor, but it has done well economically since 2009 because of its leader.

    It is now one of the fastest-growing economies in the area, even doing better than its big neighbor India. The amount of money each person makes has gone up three times in the last ten years and the World Bank thinks that more than 25 million people have been helped out of being poor in the last 20 years. It is also the second biggest maker of clothes in the world, after China.

    But in the middle of 2022, the economy became very troubled because of the pandemic and a worldwide slowdown.

    The government might have trouble dealing with the problems that come from higher prices and the terms of a loan from the IMF.

    Other countries are starting to put pressure on us too.

    In September, the US started stopping Bangladeshi officials from getting visas if they were found to be interfering with the country’s democratic election.

    The UN and other groups are worried about people being mistreated and not allowed to speak up.

    But Hasina knows that as long as India supports her, she can prevent any big punishments from the West.

    Rich countries know that if they take away benefits from Bangladesh’s clothing industry, it would affect many workers, especially women.

    Ms Hasina became the prime minister of the country in 1996 for the first time. She got elected again in 2009 and has been in charge ever since, making her the leader of Bangladesh for the longest time.

    At the end of her time as prime minister, she will be 81 years old. Many people in Bangladesh, including supporters of the Awami League, are wondering who will take her place.

    Some experts say that the election outcome was obvious, but what comes next is not sure.

  • Bangladesh reports arson attacks day before election

    Bangladesh reports arson attacks day before election

    There are reports of many fires being deliberately started in Bangladesh, the day before the people vote in the elections.

    A Buddhist temple was burnt and trucks were attacked on a big road, after a train was set on fire on Friday.

    The fire department says there were at least fourteen cases of deliberate fires in just a few hours, according to local news.

    Many opposing parties are not taking part in the election. PM Sheikh Hasina is expected to win for the fourth time in a row.

    The police have arrested a well-known opposition leader, Nabiullah Nabi, and six other members of his party for their suspected involvement in the fire on a train in Dhaka. The fire killed at least four passengers.

    Samanta Lal Sen, a leader at the Dhaka hospital helping the people hurt in the fire, says eight people are very badly hurt.

    The news in the area says that the Buddhist temple in Ramu, Cox’s Bazar, was attacked early on Saturday.

    The BNP party has told people not to vote and they have asked everyone to not work for two days.

    The Awami League said the BNP is trying to cause trouble in the election by scaring and hurting innocent people.

  • “I haven’t seen my father in captivity for 11 years” – Lawyer Abrar Elias

    “I haven’t seen my father in captivity for 11 years” – Lawyer Abrar Elias

    30-year-old Abrar Elias, who lives in east London and works as an immigration lawyer, is reminded of difficult times by the upcoming elections in Bangladesh.

    In 2012, when he was in his last year of high school in Dhaka, his father Ilias Ali, who was a well-known politician and organizer with BNP, went missing along with his driver.

    Mr Elias said he and his family were very sure that he was taken by force because of his involvement in opposition politics in Bangladesh.

    A few years later, Mr Elias went to London to learn about law, hoping to become a barrister in the future.

    He now lives in Pontoon Docks and says that the pain never goes away.

    Mr Elias said that his mother cries every day because she misses him a lot.

    “One day your father is very important to you, the next day, you don’t know where he is. ” It’s really sad.

    Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Ministry told BBC London that there are currently no reports of people going missing during the election.

    “Before, when people accused the government of doing bad things, the government quickly did things to show that the accusations weren’t true. ”

    Mr Elias and Mr. Rahman are sitting in their apartments in east London, and they are worried about their home country.

    Mr Rahman says he still has bad dreams about what happened to him, and how he was tortured for no reason.

    “My body still needs to get better, but I will always remember those things. ” I want to be able to speak openly and have others listen so that what happened to me doesn’t happen to anyone else.

  • Muhammad Yunus Nobel laureate jailed

    Muhammad Yunus Nobel laureate jailed

    A court in Bangladesh has sentenced Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to six months in prison for violating the country’s labor laws.

    Professor Yunus harshly criticized Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

    His supporters believe the incident was politically motivated. The famous economist and three colleagues of Grameen Telecom – one of the companies he founded – were convicted of not establishing a social protection fund for workers.

    All four deny any wrongdoing and have been released on bail pending appeal.

    “As my lawyers argued convincingly in court, this judgment against me flies in the face of all legal precedent and logic,” Professor Yunus said in a statement released after the verdict.

    “I call on the people of Bangladesh to speak out against injustice and support democracy and human rights for all our citizens.

    ” Yunus, 83, is known around the world as the “banker for the poor,” credited with establishing a pioneering microfinance lending system that helped millions escape poverty.

    Professor Yunus and his Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their pioneering work in 2006.

    Bangladesh must end attacks on ‘bankers for the poor’ Discussing the verdict, one of his lawyers, Abdullah Al Mamun, told the media: “It is an unprecedented verdict.

    No legal procedures were followed in this case and it was brought to trial hastily”.

    “The idea is to damage its international reputation,” Mr. Mamun added We are appealing this verdict.

    ” Professor Yunus’ lawyers said he faces more than 100 other charges of labor violations and corruption allegations.

    Ms Hasina once described Professor Yunus as a “bloodsucker” of the poor and accused Grameen Bank of charging exorbitant interest rates.

    Irene Khan, former director of the human rights organization Amnesty International and a special rapporteur for the United Nations, was present at Monday’s trial.

    She told AFP news agency that the verdict was a “betrayal of justice”.

    In August, more than 170 global figures called on Ms. Hasina to end the “persecution” of Professor Yunus.

    The letter, whose signatures include former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Virgin founder Richard Branson and U2 singer Bono, demands that the “continued legal harassment” of Professor Yunus cease.

    Ms Hasina said she has invited international experts to evaluate the ongoing legal proceedings against Professor Yunus.

    It is unclear what led to the friction between Ms Hasina and Professor Yunus, but the economist’s supporters said the government was trying to discredit him because he had considered forming a political party to compete with the ruling Awami League.

  • Tragedy strikes on wedding day as lightning claims 16 lives in Bangladesh

    Tragedy strikes on wedding day as lightning claims 16 lives in Bangladesh

    On what was supposed to be a day of celebration for his wedding, Mamun found himself burying 16 relatives who fell victim to a tragic incident of lightning in Bangladesh.

    Dressed in their finest attire, Mamun’s family members were en route to join him when a heavy storm struck, forcing them to seek shelter under a tin shed on the riverbank.

    Unfortunately, they were struck by lightning during the downpour. Bangladesh, prone to extreme weather, experiences an average of 300 lightning-related deaths annually, a stark contrast to the United States, which records fewer than 20 deaths despite having a larger population.

    The burden of such incidents weighs heavily on the South Asian nation, leaving survivors like Mamun to grapple with the aftermath of the devastating event that unfolded in August 2021.

    The 21-year-old, sharing his story for the first time, recounts the gut-wrenching moment he received the news while getting ready for his wedding at his in-laws’ home in the Shibganj area of the country’s north-west.

    “Some people were hugging the bodies,” Mamun recalls, “the injured were crying out in pain… children were screaming. I was at a loss. I could not even decide who I should go to first.”

    Mamun's relatives at a funeral ceremony
    Image caption,The funerals took place on the evening of Mamun’s wedding

    Mamun lost his father, grandparents, cousins, uncles and aunts. His mother wasn’t on the boat and survived the lightning attack.

    “When I found my father’s dead body I simply burst into tears. I was so shocked I fell sick,” Mamun says.

    Later that evening, the funerals of his relatives took place – the wedding feast they were meant to enjoy was instead distributed to the homeless.

    Mamun later got married, but says he doesn’t celebrate his wedding anniversary as it triggers painful memories. “After the tragic incident, now I am really scared of rain and thunder.”

    Lightning is a big killer in Bangladesh, claiming more lives annually than floods.

    Lightning in Bangladesh
    Image caption,Reported deaths and injuries due to lightning have increased greatly in Bangladesh

    The number of reported deaths due to lightning has also risen steeply, from just dozens per year in the 1990s.

    Nasa, the UN and the government of Bangladesh cite increased storminess due to climate change as a reason for the increase in deadly strikes.

    “Global warming, environmental changes, living patterns are all factors for the increasing death toll due to lightning,” Md Mijanur Rahman, the director general of Bangladesh’s disaster management division, told the BBC.

    Such is the seriousness, that the government has added lightning strikes to the official list of natural disasters the country faces which includes floods, cyclones, earthquakes and droughts.

    The majority of victims of lightning are farmers, who are vulnerable to the elements as they work the fields through the rainy monsoon months in the spring and summer.

    Abdullah's football shirt
    Image caption,Abdullah was wearing his Barcelona shirt when he was struck by lightning

    A football shirt, hanging on a rickety fence, overlooking a field in the Satkhira region of Bangladesh is a poignant reminder of one of the victims.

    Just days earlier, the shirt had been worn by Abdullah as he went into the vast rice fields to do his day’s work.

    Now, draped over the wooden barrier, the Barcelona football shirt is singed and frayed, the burnt edges of thread show where the lightning left its mark in May this year.

    Abdullah’s wife of three decades, Rehana, took me to the field to tell me what happened the day she lost her husband.

    It was bright and sunny as Abdullah and a group of farmers went to harvest rice. By late afternoon a heavy storm began, and a lightning bolt struck her husband.

    “Some of the other farmers brought him to this roadside shop,” Rehana says, pointing to a small shack along the lane. “By then he was already dead.”

    A picture of Abdullah

    Back at Rehana’s house, the rice Abdullah harvested a day earlier lies in fresh piles outside the small one-room dwelling.

    The couple had recently taken out a loan to build a second room to extend their modest home.

    Inside, the couple’s 14-year-old son Masood is reading a book. With no primary earner, Rehana fears she will be left with a lifetime of debt and wonders how she will pay for his studies.

    “The fear gripped me so deeply that now if I see a cloud in the sky, I don’t even dare to let my son go outside any more,” she says consumed by tears.

    Rehana pictured on a farm
    Image caption,Rehana says she doesn’t let her son outside following the death of her husband

    Lightning is a growing concern in other countries too – including neighbouring India which has also seen a rise in the number of strikes in recent years, but a significant reduction in the number of fatalities due to a number of initiatives.

    There are efforts in Bangladesh to do more to reduce the number of deaths due to lightning.

    Activists say more tall trees need to be planted in remote rural areas to absorb the impact of the strikes, especially in places which have borne the brunt of deforestation.

    They also call for a large-scale programme to build lightning sheds, so farmers can take safe shelter, and for broader early warning systems to alert people about possible storms.

    One challenge is the poor connectivity and lack of mobile usage in the areas where people are the most vulnerable.

    A lack of awareness is also a challenge. Many in the country don’t realise how dangerous lightning can be – few people anywhere in the world expect to be hit by a thunderbolt.

    Farmer Ripon Hossen – who was with Abdullah the day he was killed – never imagined what lightning would look like up close, until it struck.

    Farmer Ripon Hossen
    Image caption,Farmer Ripon Hossen says he is terrified to work in the open but needs the income from farming

    “There was a big loud sound, and then I saw lots of flashing lights,” he recalled. “It was as if a disk of fire had fallen on us. I felt a great electric shock and fell to the ground.

    “After a while, I opened my eyes and saw that Abdullah was dead.”

    Ripon can’t believe he survived. He says he’s terrified to work in the open, but in this impoverished agricultural area farming is the only source of income for him.

    “I cry whenever I think of my friend Abdullah,” he says.

    “When I close my eyes at night, all the memories of that day return like a flashback. I can’t console myself.”

  • Bangladesh sees violence as election looms

    Bangladesh sees violence as election looms

    Bangladesh is currently experiencing a surge of political tension that has erupted into protests and violence, leaving the country in a state of unease as it approaches general elections scheduled for January.

    The situation escalated when several senior opposition leaders were arrested the previous Sunday, following a massive rally against the government that turned violent, resulting in the deaths of at least two opposition supporters.

    The main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has intensified its protests, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

    The BNP and its coalition partners are advocating for the formation of a neutral interim government before the general elections, asserting that free and fair polls cannot be conducted under Prime Minister Hasina’s leadership. However, the government, led by her Awami League, has rejected this demand.

    The BNP’s rally in the capital city, Dhaka, drew tens of thousands of participants, making it one of the largest gatherings in a decade. Unfortunately, the event turned violent, with police firing rubber bullets and tear gas, and opposition supporters hurling stones and bricks.

    The streets in the capital were left littered with the remnants of sound grenades, tear gas canisters, and shattered glass. Both sides have accused each other of initiating the violence.

    A police box set on fire as Bangladesh Nationalist Party supporters participate in a protest demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 28 October 2023.
    Image caption,Some structures were set on fire during the protests

    “The opposition supporters attacked police, journalists, hospitals, ambulances and the houses of the chief justice and other judges, creating chaos,” Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told the BBC.

    The BNP said it was the other way round.

    “It was a peaceful and non-violent rally, but the government was baffled by the massive turnout. So, they decided to disrupt the meeting,” senior party leader Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury told the BBC.

    “The rally was attacked from two sides. It resembled a war zone. So, we had to stop our public meeting midway.”

    The ruling Awami League has firmly denied allegations that its supporters incited opposition activists participating in the rally.

    In response to the police’s actions, the BNP initiated a three-day nationwide blockade, commencing on Tuesday. During the protests, demonstrators set fire to buses and clashed with security forces in various locations. To disperse the crowds, police resorted to using tear gas and rubber bullets. On Tuesday, clashes with the police resulted in the deaths of two opposition activists. As a result of the unrest, most vehicles have refrained from venturing onto the roads due to concerns about violence.

    Political turmoil is not an uncommon occurrence in Bangladesh, and over the years, political parties have resorted to street protests to press their demands.

    These actions have led to shutdowns, violence, and loss of life. In recent years, the political divide in the country has widened, with the bitterness between parties intensifying.

    The Awami League is currently in its second decade in power and is seeking a fourth consecutive five-year term. Both major political parties appear reluctant to engage in dialogue, and the prospects for meaningful discussions before the upcoming elections seem slim.

  • More than 1,000 people have died after Bangladesh’s worst dengue outbreak

    Over 1,000 people have died from dengue in Bangladesh’s most severe outbreak ever. Official data shows that the ongoing spread of the disease is increasing as more cases are occurring outside of crowded cities. This spread is being caused by the climate crisis and the rising temperatures.

    Since January, over 1,000 people have died from a disease carried by mosquitoes. This disease has affected more than 100 children and there have been over 208,000 infections. These numbers were reported by the Bangladesh Directorate General of Health Services on Monday.

    Dengue fever is common in the South Asian country and usually happens a lot during the monsoon season between July and September. However, this year there were more cases starting at the end of April.

    Scientists say that the long monsoon season with higher temperatures and unpredictable, heavy rain made it perfect for the Aedes mosquito to breed. This mosquito spreads the dengue disease.

    More sick people coming to the hospitals have made it hard to take care of everyone. There aren’t enough beds or enough staff to help them, according to the news.

    The number of deaths from the outbreak is almost four times more than last year when 281 people died. In just September, Bangladesh health authorities said there were over 79,600 reported cases and 396 deaths.

    There is also a worry that the outbreak may continue into the colder months. Last year, the number of dengue cases was highest in October and the most deaths happened in November.

    Dengue is a type of sickness caused by a virus. It makes people feel like they have the flu, with symptoms like severe headaches, muscle and joint pain, high fever, and sometimes internal bleeding and death. This disease spreads to humans when a mosquito infected with it bites them. There is no known cure for the disease.

    Dengue, also called breakbone fever, is a common disease in over 100 countries. Each year, between 100 million and 400 million people get infected, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

    In the past, outbreaks mostly happened in crowded cities like Dhaka, which has over 20 million people. But this year, the number of infections quickly spread to every part of the country, including rural areas, according to the World Health Organization.

    WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a recent meeting that the UN agency is helping the Bangladeshi government and authorities “to improve monitoring, testing capabilities, patient care, controlling disease-carrying insects, sharing information about risks, and involving the community” during the outbreak.

    However, public health experts in the country are urging for more attention to be given to dengue. They want to focus on preventing the disease by detecting it early and providing proper healthcare. This is because getting dengue again can be more severe and may even lead to death.

    These requests for action are not just for Bangladesh. As the Earth gets hotter because of burning fossil fuels, illnesses will happen more often in new parts of the world.

    According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of dengue cases worldwide has increased by eight times in the last 20 years.

    As the climate crisis gets worse, diseases like dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever that are spread by mosquitoes will probably spread more and affect people’s health even more.

    This year, a serious outbreak of dengue has affected South America, specifically Peru, which is experiencing its most severe outbreak ever recorded. The situation in Florida made authorities put several counties on alert. In Asia, there has been a sudden increase in cases in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia, along with other countries. And countries in sub-Saharan Africa, like Chad, have also experienced outbreaks.

    According to Abdi Mahamud, the director of WHO’s alert and response team, the outbreaks of diseases are a warning sign of the climate crisis. He also mentioned that an increasing number of countries are facing the challenge of dealing with these diseases.

  • Afghan women flee in order to pursue education

    Afghan women flee in order to pursue education

    Nina, a 19-year-old student from Bangladesh, is clutching her boxing gloves to her face while staring into the mirror at her university dorm room.

    She is learning how to defend herself. She says there is no other choice. Nina is one of hundreds of Afghan women who, despite the possibility that they will never be able to return home, have embraced the offer of a Western education.

    She says she felt significantly weaker when navigating the Kabul airport a little over a year ago. She recalled that her hands were shaking. She decided against leaving Afghanistan since she was aware of the danger.

    She lied when asked by airport officials: “The Taliban don’t allow women to travel alone so I said my mother was sick in Pakistan.”

    When they were persuaded, she was relieved, but a more difficult challenge lay ahead.

    Nina left her house and her family as she boarded the aircraft. It was so difficult for her that “the day I left, I was crying that I might never see my mother’s face again.”

    My younger sister’s heart was broken by it. It hurts to think of them.

    “We want to extricate 1,000 women,”

    Life has significantly changed for Afghan women since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, two years ago.

    They lost the ability to continue their education above the age of 12, dress whichever they like, and travel by themselves for longer than 72 kilometres.

    Nina is one of many who was given a chance to escape through educational opportunities provided by the Asian University for Women (AUW) initiatives.

    The AUW started getting calls from their female students requesting assistance as soon as the Taliban took power. Kamal Ahmad, the organization’s founder, claims he knew he had to free them.

    With the help of AUW students, who spread the word, they were able to rescue 148 women from Kabul as western forces left the nation. Three times in all, seven coaches made the perilous trip to the airport in the city.

    On August 26, a suicide bomber whooshed through the crowd outside one of the airport’s gates when the women were in the departures area killed more than 150 people.

    “They boarded a flight with the US military and successfully landed in Saudi Arabia after an extremely traumatic journey to the airport,” Mr. Ahmad said. “All 148 ladies are currently enrolled at universities across the country. I’m just happy that the conclusion wasn’t horrible.

    Since then, AUW has provided scholarships and coordinated the evacuation of 450 women from Afghanistan, in addition to hundreds more. These students have been transferred to AUW’s own university in Bangladesh or to affiliated institutions in the US and the UK, including Brown University and Oxford and Manchester.

    By providing scholarships and a safe escape from Afghanistan, AUW intends to assist more women — the target is 1,000 — in continuing their study.

    “I abandoned my husband in Iran.”

    Safia, a 20-year-old journalist, is another one of the program’s beneficiaries. The night the Taliban took control, she was on her way to work. Her career and the television studio where she worked were soon closed down.

    Due to the increased restrictions put on women, she claims it was challenging for several weeks just to leave her house.

    The Taliban tried to kidnap me one day and put me in a box because I wasn’t wearing all black, so I chose to wear red instead. It was frightening.

    Safia was told by her captors to enter the post office and turn in her identification, passport and mobile but instead she escaped.

    She recalled having a fervent belief that she would be shot from behind. She continued, “Even though I knew that in our society, death is preferable to a Taliban capture, I screamed that I wouldn’t go into the post office and raced with all of my strength.

    She claims that while rushing passed moving cars and almost colliding with a number of them, she kept going until she arrived at a store. She claims that she was mute until her spouse discovered her.

    She claims that the Taliban never came looking for her, but it was a brief reprieve because she no longer had a job and spent most of her time at home because she was frightened to leave.

    She received a scholarship offer at AUW a few months later. She has no clue when she will be reunited with any of her family members, including her husband, but she hopes that by continuing her education, she will be able to support them.

    She claims that he assisted her in leaving Afghanistan by misrepresenting their destination to airport security. She claims that in order to even reach the airport, they had to undergo lengthy questioning and provide a marriage licence.

    They kept looking for documentation showing that we were a married couple. It was difficult, but eventually they allowed us through. I had to then go through Iran and Dubai before arriving in Chittagong. It was really difficult for me to leave my husband in Iran.

    Safia claims she never intended to leave her pre-undergraduate programme, where she is now enrolled. She thinks that journalists must stand up for common people in Afghanistan.

    “My family wanted me to leave for my own safety, but I personally wanted to be a voice for the women whose rights had been taken away.”

    “The Day I Forever Left My Family,”

    Her parents also pushed Nina to visit Bangladesh. She claims, however, that she was concerned about abandoning them and the danger to them. She also had a hard time adjusting to a completely different culture and language.

    However, she had founded a boxing club by her second semester. 50 female students currently attend her lesson.

    She thinks it’s crucial for women to be strong and capable of self-defense because “I’ve always wanted to be able to protect myself and I want to teach others to do the same.”

    She claims that she put in a lot of effort in school for seven years and often boxed at the gym.

    But starting in August 2021, I was unable to go to the gym, carry on with my study, or even walk outside.

    In Afghanistan, girls beyond the age of 12 are no longer permitted to attend school.

    According to her, the Taliban transported Afghanistan 20 years in the past: “I sobbed. The circumstance is terrible.

    She now wants to encourage other female students to develop their strength and confidence. All of them, like Nina and Safia, have left their pasts behind and are attempting to forge ahead into their futures, but for the time being, they have had to let go of those they hold dear.

    “I want the Afghan women to be free because I know how hard they work to get it. They should all be able to pursue their goals, Nina argues, one day.

    These women all claim to have something in common. The woman they left behind will always be on their minds.

  • Bangladesh and Myanmar coast hit by intense storm

    Bangladesh and Myanmar coast hit by intense storm

    A strong cyclone is now striking the shores of Bangladesh and Myanmar after strengthening into the equivalent of a category-five storm.

    195kph (120mph) gusts and heavy rain from Cyclone Mocha could cause severe floods on land near the Bay of Bengal.

    There are worries that it could impact Cox’s Bazar, which is home to almost a million people and is the largest refugee camp in the world.

    Up to four meters of storm surge could saturate low-lying towns.

    Cyclone Mocha, according to forecasters, might be Bangladesh’s strongest cyclone in nearly two decades.

    About 500,000 people have been evacuated to safer locations.

    The Bangladeshi meteorological department office said the maximum sustained wind speed within around 75km (45 miles) of the centre of the cyclone was around 195 kilometres (120 miles) per hour with gusts and squalls of 215 kilometres per hour.

    In preparation nearby airports were shut, fishermen ordered to suspend their work and 1,500 shelters were set up as people from vulnerable areas were moved to safer spots.

    Cyclone Mocha was predicted to bring a deluge of rain, which can trigger landslides – a serious danger for those who reside in hillside camps, where landslips are a regular phenomenon.

    Particular concerns have been expressed for the many Rohingya refugees living in makeshift homes in the the camps of Cox’s Bazaar and people on the western coast of Myanmar.

    “For a cyclone to hit an area where there is already such deep humanitarian need is a nightmare scenario, impacting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people whose coping capacity has been severely eroded by successive crises,” UN Humanitarian Coordinator A.I. Ramanathan Balakrishnan said.

  • Major evacuations made as Cyclone Mocha threatens Bangladesh

    Major evacuations made as Cyclone Mocha threatens Bangladesh

    A cyclone that could be very dangerous is forcing about 500,000 people to flee to safer locations in south-east Bangladesh.

    Cyclone Mocha is predicted to make landfall on Sunday, with 170kph winds and storm surges of up to 12 feet.

    There are concerns the cyclone could impact the world’s largest refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar, where close to a million people live in makeshift homes.

    Rains are already falling on the camp and red warning flags have been raised.

    Cyclone Mocha could be the most powerful cyclone seen in Bangladesh in nearly two decades.

    As the weather system heads towards the Bangladesh-Myanmar coast, nearby airports have been shut, fishermen have been told to suspend their work, and 1,500 shelters have been set up, as the process of moving people from vulnerable areas begins.

    Officials in Cox’s Bazar said 1,000 people had already been evacuated from one area, with plans to move a further 8,000 people from a ward near the beach if the situation worsens.

    “We are ready to face any hazards… we don’t want to lose a single life,” Vibhushan Kanti Das, additional deputy commissioner at Cox’s Bazar told the BBC.

    Tourists staying in beach side hotels will be safe, so emergency workers will move locals like fishermen and families who live in more vulnerable homes, the official said.

    Shah Pari Island, Teknaf
    Image caption,Officials with megaphones have been out warning people of the need to shelter or evacuate

    Close to a million Rohingya refugees who have fled neighbouring Myanmar remain at risk, living in flimsy bamboo shelters with tarpaulin covers. The UN says it’s doing what it can to protect these areas.

    Bangladesh’s government doesn’t allow refugees to leave their camps, so many say they’re frightened and unsure of what will happen if their shelters are hit by the storm.

    Forecasters expect the cyclone to bring a deluge of rain, which can trigger landslides – a serious danger for those who reside in hillside camps, where landslips are a regular phenomenon.

    MD Shamsul Douza, from the Bangladeshi government office which oversees the refugees and the camps, told the BBC that they were working with NGOs to ensure the camps were as prepared as possible for the cyclone.

    But he said moving refugees out of the camps was not an easy task.

    “Moving a million refugees is very difficult, the implementation of the movement is difficult. We have to be practical,” the official said.

    “Our plan is to save lives. We are also focused on the days after. There may be heavy rains leading to flash floods and landslides, which would also pose a risk.”

    In Myanmar- the rain started on Friday night in Sittwe City, the capital of Rakhine state. The streets emptied out as people took shelter, with many seeking to find safety in cyclone shelters on high ground.

    There are almost no lifejackets to be found, and the remaining stock is being sold at a higher price. Gas stations also closed on Saturday, making it difficult for people to drive out of the city.

  • Bangladesh is looking into a significant fire at the largest refugee camp in the world.

    Bangladesh is looking into a significant fire at the largest refugee camp in the world.

    Authorities in Bangladesh are looking into what started a large fire that left 12,000 Rohingya refugees without a place to stay.

    There have been no recorded injuries, but according to officials, the fire on Sunday destroyed 2,000 shelters after quickly spreading through cooking gas cylinders.

    Police are investigating if the fire was an act of sabotage. One man has been detained, local media reported.

    The camp in the south-east is believed to be the world’s largest refugee camp.

    Most of its residents, Rohingya refugees, had fled persecution in neighbouring Myanmar.

    On Monday, hundreds had returned to the Cox’s Bazar area to see what they could salvage from the ruins.

    The blaze had started at about 14:45 local time Sunday (08:45 GMT) and quickly tore through the bamboo-and-tarpaulin shelters, an official said.

    “Some 2,000 shelters have been burnt, leaving about 12,000 forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals shelterless,” Mijanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s refugee commissioner, told AFP news agency.

    The blaze was brought under control within three hours but at least 35 mosques and 21 learning centres for the refugees were also destroyed, he added.

    Photos are now emerging that show the extent of the devastation.

    Many of those who lived there can be seen picking through the charred area, where only metal struts and singed corrugated roofing remains.

    Rohingya refugees search for their belongings after a fire broke out in Balukhali refugee camp in Ukhia, Cox's bazar, Bangladesh, 05 March 2023.

    Hrusikesh Harichandan, from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told the BBC there had been “massive damage” to the camp.

    He said basic services such as water centres and testing facilities had also been affected.

    “My shelter was gutted. [My shop] was also burnt,” Mamun Johar, a 30-year-old Rohingya man, told AFP.

    “The fire took everything from me, everything.”

    Rohingya refugee camp that has been destroyed after a fire broke out

    Thick black clouds were seen rising above Camp 11, one of many in the border district where more than a million Rohingya refugees live.

    It will be difficult to relocate the estimated 12,000 people affected by the fire – given the already overcrowded conditions in the “mega camp”, said Hardin Lang from Refugees International.

    Delivering basic services to those people in other parts of the camp would also be a challenge because many services – health clinics, schools – have been destroyed.

    “This is in essence an acute incident on what was already a chronically very vulnerable and precariously poised population,” he told the BBC.

    The camps, overcrowded and squalid, have long been vulnerable to fires.

    Between January 2021 and December 2022, there were 222 fire incidents in the Rohingya camps including 60 cases of arson, according to a Bangladesh defence ministry report released last month.

    In March 2021, at least 15 people were killed and some 50,000 were displaced after a huge fire tore through a camp in the settlement.

    The refugee camp houses people who fled from Myanmar following a military crackdown against the Rohingya ethnic minority.

    The Rohingya are Muslims in largely Buddhist Myanmar, where they have faced persecution for generations.

    The latest exodus of Rohingya escaping to Bangladesh began in August 2017, after Myanmar’s military brutally retaliated when a Rohingya insurgent group launched attacks on several police posts.

  • Boy wakes up in another country after hiding in container during hide-and-seek game

    Boy wakes up in another country after hiding in container during hide-and-seek game

    A 15-year-old boy from Bangladesh who hid inside a shipping container during a hide-and-seek game was found a week later in another country after being trapped.

    Identified only by his first name Fahim, the teenager is reported to have lurked into the container and fallen asleep while playing with friends in the port city of Chittagong on January 11, according to India Times.

    The container was then loaded onto a commercial ship bound for Malaysia, where the boy was discovered six days later on January 17 in West Port.

    bangladesh boy found inside shipping container

    It turned out that he was mistakenly locked up in the Integra container ship and sailed across the Indian Ocean. He had slept off in the container only to wake up 2,000 miles away in Malaysia.

    After he was found, officials reported that he had developed a fever and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

    police find bangladesh boy inside shipping container

    Following an investigation, officials discovered that the teen had wandered into the container while playing hide-and-seek, although they initially suspected that he was involved in a human trafficking scheme.

  • Adrift Rohingya boat without supplies near the Andamans

    The UN is requesting that nations in South East Asia’s Andaman Sea region help a boat carrying at least 150 Rohingya refugees that has been idling without power for the past two weeks.

    Many passengers, including children, have already passed away, according to those on board the boat who have been reached via satellite phone.

    They claimed that there was a shortage of food and water.

    On Friday, the UN issued its appeal, but there has been no response as of yet.

    The small fishing boat left southern Bangladesh last month and has now been at sea for more than three weeks. Those on board are believed to have been trying to reach Malaysia.

    The boat is open, with little shelter, and its engine appears to have failed a few days after it departed.

    It has now drifted hundreds of kilometres off course into Indian waters, near the Nicobar Islands.

    An activist helping Rohingya in Bangladesh made contact with someone on the boat on Sunday.

    “We are dying here,” the refugee said, adding that those on board had not eaten anything for more than a week.

    The Rohingya are an ethnic minority in Myanmar many of whose members fled to Bangladesh in 2017 to escape a campaign of genocide launched by the Burmese military.

    Many Rohingya try to escape from overcrowded refugee camps in southern Bangladesh by taking high-risk sea journeys at this time of year, after the monsoon in the region has passed.

    Their numbers have grown because of deteriorating conditions in the camps, while more Rohingya who are still in Myanmar are also trying to leave following the military coup there last year.

    At least five boats are known to have left in the past two months.

    One of them with more than 100 Rohingya on board was rescued by Sri Lanka’s navy off the island’s northern coast on Sunday evening, Sri Lanka’s navy said.

    The group included women and children. Four people were taken to hospital for minor sickness, a navy spokesman said.

    It was unclear where that group had begun their journey or where they were trying to get to.

    Source: BBC.com 

  • Head of largest Muslim party arrested in Bangladesh

    The Jamaat-e-Islami party is backing the opposition’s demonstrations calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down.

    Days after declaring that Jamaat-e-Islami (Bangladesh Islamic Assembly), the country’s largest Muslim party, would support protests led by the opposition calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign, the party’s leader was detained.

    “Shafiqur Rahman was arrested from his residence at around 1 am on 13th December [19:00 GMT, December 12],” a statement from the party’s acting secretary general, Maulana ATM Masum, said on Tuesday.

    “We are vehemently condemning and protesting his arrest,” Masum said, calling the authorities for his immediate and unconditional release.

    For years, Jamaat, the country’s third-largest political party, which has been banned from contesting elections since 2012, was a major ally of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and their coalition ruled the country between 2001-2006.

    But after Hasina came to power in 2009, Jamaat’s entire leadership was arrested and tried for war crimes dating back to the country’s 1971 independence war against Pakistan.

    Five of its top leaders were hanged between 2013 and 2016 after they were found guilty by a war crimes court. Hundreds of party activists were shot dead and tens of thousands were detained after they staged violent protests against the executions.

    The party called the trials politically motivated and part of a wider vendetta against its leaders.

    “Ill efforts are going on to destroy the leadership of Jamaat-e-Islami,” read the Jamaat statement. “On one hand, they are talking of democracy and election, while on the other they are oppressing … the opposition leaders and activists. Practically, they do not believe in democracy.”

    Police last month also arrested Rahman’s son, Rafat Sadik Saifullah, on extremism charges and remanded him in custody under the country’s harsh “anti-terrorism” laws.

    Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, hold a rally in Dhaka
    Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party rally in capital Dhaka [File: Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP]

    Rahman’s arrest came amid a continuing crackdown by the government since Saturday when tens of thousands of BNP leaders and supporters led a rally protesting against soaring fuel prices and cost of living in the country.

    The opposition has been demanding Hasina step down and let a caretaker government hold free and fair elections as the South Asian garment manufacturing hub battled an emerging economic crisis.

    The BNP has also demanded the release of Begum Khaleda Zia, the 76-year-old party head and two-time prime minister who has been in jail since being convicted on two counts of corruption in 2018.

    The government’s crackdown has seen more than 2,000 BNP politicians and supporters – including the party’s de facto chief and general secretary, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir – arrested on charges of inciting violence during the rally, in which at least one person was killed and dozens, including several police officers, injured.

    Jamaat and several left-leaning and centrist parties have supported the BNP’s demands. They also announced they would hold joint protests with the BNP in the coming days.

    Hasina, in power since 2009, has had two national elections stained by opposition boycotts and alleged electoral malpractices under her watch.

    Her government’s heavy-handed approaches to suppress political opposition and dissenters have also attracted severe criticism from human rights activists and independent observers.

    Western governments along with the United Nations have expressed concerns over the political climate in Bangladesh, one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia.

    The Western embassies and the UN issued a joint statement last week, calling for Bangladesh to allow free expression, peaceful assembly and fair elections.

     

  • Commonwealth head: ‘115 people dying every day as a result of climate change’

    Baroness Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth, has told Sky News that “armageddon” is beckoning and 115 people are dying each day from the effects of climate change.

    She told Sky News that if we do not act, “we will not have a planet worth living on”.

    She said: “Just look at what’s happened in the last few months to countries like Bangladesh – 60% of the country under water.

    “Antonio Guterres (UN secretary general) talked about it as ‘monsoons on steroids’.

    “This was Armageddon. More than $40bn of damage. And you’ve got thousands of people affected and millions of people who are going to be now put in a position of real devastation and hunger.”

    Baroness Scotland went on: “All of us, all of humanity, has to be focused on this.

    “And if we have to drive everybody else to do that, which they must do, then we will.

    “But those of us who understand it have to speak out. We have to be able to say to everybody, this is everybody’s business and you can’t run away from it, because if you do, our whole humanity is at risk. This is about saving the planet.

    “We’ve got 115 people dying every single day as a result of climate change.

    “That is our reality.”

    Source: Skynews.com

  • Deaths from the tragic pilgrim boat incident in Bangladesh are rising

    At least 67 people have died following a boat tragedy on Sunday in northern Bangladesh… A few of the passengers aboard the boat were going to a historic temple to observe a significant Hindu festival.

    The death toll from a boat accident that occurred in Bangladesh rose to 67 on Tuesday, after rescue teams retrieved more than a dozen bodies.

    More people are still missing, and rescue operations will continue Wednesday, police officials said.

    Bangladeshi Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan also visited the accident area on Tuesday.

    A committee to probe the incident has been set up.

    Dozens people on banks of a river, close to the town of Boda, in northern Bangladesh
    Dozens have gathered on the banks of the river, close to the northern town of Boda

    Relatives mourn deaths of loved ones, await news

    An overcrowded boat carrying around 90 people overturned on Sunday in a river close to the town of Boda, about 330 kilometers (210 miles) northwest of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka.

    About 50 people on the boat were pilgrims headed to a centuries-old temple to mark the beginning of a big Hindu festival, police officials said.

    Relatives of the people who were on the boat have been crowding the banks of the river, hoping for news about their family members.

    Rescue teams on Monday retrieved bodies miles away from where the accident happened. Sujay Kumar Roy, Boda’s police chief, said firefighters, navy divers, and villagers were all searching for miles downstream of the Karotoa river, where the accident happened.

    A police official said the boat was carrying three times as many people as permitted. Deadly accidents like the one that happened Sunday occur every so often in the South Asian country, which experts blame on a lack of safety regulations.

     

  • Bangladesh cuts school and work hours to save power

    Bangladesh will close schools for one more day each week and reduce office hours to ease an electricity shortage, a government official says.

    Last month, the South Asian nation started daily two-hour power cuts.

    Protesters have taken to the streets in recent weeks after the government raised petrol prices by more than 50%.

    The war in Ukraine has driven up the cost of importing fuel and taken a toll on Bangladesh’s economy and foreign currency reserves.

     

    On Monday, Bangladesh Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said that schools – which were previously closed on Fridays – would now also be shut on Saturdays.

    Meanwhile, government offices and banks will have their opening hours cut to seven hours a day, instead of eight hours. However, private offices will be allowed to set their own operating hours, Mr Islam said.

    He added that the government would continue to provide power to villages, including in the early hours of the morning when crops are irrigated.

    Many parts of Bangladesh are known to go without electricity for more than two hours a day.

    The country generates most of its electricity from natural gas, some of which it imports.

    Officials have shut down all of the country’s diesel-driven power plants, which account for around 6% of Bangladesh’s electricity generation, because of the rising cost of fuel imports.

    Earlier this month, petrol prices were raised by more than 50%, with the cost of the fuel rising from 86 taka a litre (90 US cents, 76p) to 130 taka.

    At the same time the price of diesel and kerosene went up by more than 40%.

    In July, Bangladesh became the third South Asian nation to seek a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), after Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

    While the size of the potential loan has not yet been decided, talks are expected to begin after the World Bank and IMF Spring meetings in October.

    Bangladesh’s foreign currency reserves have dwindled to around $40bn (£34bn) or four and a half months of typical government spending.

    In recent years, the $416bn economy has been lauded as one of the fastest-growing in the world.

    Source: BBC

  • Dozens killed and millions stranded by India and Bangladesh floods

    At least 59 people are known to have died in lightning strikes and landslides triggered by severe monsoon storms in India and Bangladesh.

    Millions of people have been stranded while emergency workers have struggled to reach those affected.

    Forecasters are warning that the flooding is expected to get worse over the next few days.

    Bangladesh government officials have described the recent flooding as the country’s worst since 2004.

    Unrelenting rains over the last week have inundated vast swathes of the country’s north-east region, exacerbated by runoff from heavy downpours across mountains in neighbouring India.

    Schools have been converted into makeshift shelters and troops have been deployed to evacuate households cut off from neighbouring communities as a result of rising waters.

    People try to survive as monsoon rains swamped huge areas of the country, leaving millions of homes underwater in Sylhet, Bangladesh on June 18, 2022.
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Bangladesh government officials have described the floods as the country’s worst since 2004

    “The whole village went under water by early Friday and we all got stranded,” Lokman, whose family lives in Companiganj village in Bangladesh, told AFP news agency.

    “After waiting a whole day on the roof of our home, a neighbour rescued us with a makeshift boat. My mother said she has never seen such floods in her entire life,” the 23-year-old added.

    A patient is taken to upstairs as flood water enter inside Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital in Sylhet, Bangladesh on June 18, 2022.
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, A patient is moved to a higher floor as flood waters enter a hospital in Sylhet, Bangladesh

    In Assam state in neighbouring India, more than 1.8 million people have been affected by floods after five days of incessant downpours.

    Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters he had instructed district officials to provide “all necessary help and relief” to those caught in the flooding.

    “Our house is submerged in water. I’ve never seen such huge floods in my life,” Husna Begum, a resident of Udiana village in Assam, told the BBC.

    The 28-year-old has been living in a rickety plastic tent with her children since Thursday. “There is no drinking water in the camp here. My son has a fever but I am unable to take him to the doctor,” she said.

    Ronju Chaudhary, who lives in the same village, described the scale of the flooding. “We are surrounded by water on all sides. There’s water inside our homes too,” he said.

    Army soldiers evacuate flood-affected villagers following heavy monsoon rainfalls in Rangia of Kamrup district, in India's Assam state on June 18, 2022.
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Army soldiers evacuated flood victims following heavy monsoon rainfall in India’s Assam state

    This week’s rains come as Bangladesh’s Sylhet region was still recovering from its worst floods in nearly two decades in late May, when at least 10 people were killed and four million others were affected.

    Syed Rafiqul Haque, a former lawmaker, said Bangladesh was at risk of a humanitarian crisis with “almost the entire Sylhet-Sunamganj belt.. under water and millions of people… stranded”.

    Some 3.1 million people were displaced in the region, officials said, with 200,000 of them now being housed in makeshift shelters on higher ground.

    Seasonal monsoon rains represent a lifeline for farmers across South Asia, but typically cause deaths and destruction to property every year. Bangladesh and India have both experienced increasingly extreme weather in recent years.

    Environmentalists – while not ascribing single weather events to climate change – do warn it could lead to more disasters, especially in countries that are low-lying and densely populated.

    Source: BBC

  • South Asia animal sellers go online for Eid al-Adha

    Pandemic badly hits India, Bangladesh and Pakistan markets as fears about catching the virus keep customers away.

    Prancing in front of a camera with its blond mane blowing in the wind, “007” is one of the thousands of goats being sold online as Muslims prepare for a key religious festival shaken this year by the coronavirus pandemic.

    Millions of goats, sheep and cattle are slaughtered annually during Eid al-Adha – the festival of sacrifice – one of two major holy days observed by Muslims across the world, including some 600 million in South Asia.

    The pandemic has, however, badly hit India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, which have shut or heavily restricted major markets, while fears of catching the virus are keeping customers away ahead of the main festival on Saturday.

    “We were traumatised by the loss of two of my uncles to COVID-19 and didn’t want to sacrifice an animal,” Saddid Hossain told AFP news agency in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka.

    “But we have to stay within our religious tradition, so we’d rather buy from an online cow seller.”


    A livestock vendor waits for customers along a street in the old quarters of New Delhi ahead of Eid al-Adha

    Faced with deserted markets, livestock breeders and traders have turned to websites, apps and social media to showcase their animals.

    Fahad Zariwala promotes goats like 007 from farms across India on his YouTube channel, which has more than 800,000 followers.

    “I shoot a slow-motion video with beautiful music, and I make them [goats] popular,” said Zariwala, who is based in Mumbai.

    “They have a personality and are… mostly named after Bollywood movies and trending characters in Bollywood,” he told AFP.

    Zariwala has seen a huge increase in viewers from Australia, Britain, the United States and the Middle East, which all have large South Asian diasporas.

    One farm he promotes runs online beauty contests to tempt potential customers, who might buy the goats for their families in India, home to 200 million Muslims.

    PashuBajaar, which sells thousands of goats for Indian farmers, said online sales had jumped from a few dozen last year to more than 2,500 in the past three months.

    “We’ve even received online orders for thousands for next year,” Chief Executive Sanjeev Kumar told AFP.

    The animals are delivered to buyers in trucks that can carry 10 to 15 at a time.

    In Muslim-majority Pakistan, home to 215 million people, dozens of apps and websites have sprung up.

    Buyers can select an animal and have it delivered to their doorstep, slaughtered or donated to a charity.

    Qurbani App chief executive Muhammad Ali Chaudhry said: “Orders have gone through the roof.”

    Islamabad goat farmer Muhammad Naeem, meanwhile, said his digital transactions had jumped from 20 percent of sales to almost half.

    But the rise in online sales has been accompanied by plunging prices.

    Mumbai seller Walid Dawood Jat, who sold six goats online during India’s lockdown, said they fetched just half their usual prices.

    “We used to sell goats at 500-600 rupees [$6.70-$8.00] per kilo,” he said, adding the price had fallen by half.

    “Buyers haggle with us. They say they don’t have money, their income is down.”

    In Dhaka’s biggest cattle market, livestock sales are down from 400,000 a week in previous years to 30,000.

    “Last year many people came. We were very busy,” said trader Kalu Bepari, who traveled 245km (150 miles) to the market with 13 bulls, but has only sold two “for a very cheap price”.

    “This year, there is barely anyone due to coronavirus fears. Nobody even asks the price.”

    Source: aljazeera.com

  • India and Bangladesh evacuate millions ahead of super cyclone

    India and Bangladesh are evacuating millions of people from coastal areas ahead of a super cyclone which is approaching from the Bay of Bengal.

    Cyclone Amphan is expected to make landfall in an area near the border of the two countries later on Wednesday.

    More than 20 relief teams have already been deployed, and several more are on standby, Indian officials say.

    The coronavirus outbreak is making it harder for officials in both countries to evacuate people in these regions.

    Amphan is expected to hit the coast with winds gusting up to 185km/h (115mph), forecasters say.

    Officials in Bangladesh fear it will be the most powerful storm since Cyclone Sidr killed about 3,500 people in 2007. Most died as a result of sea water surging in.

    While the storm’s current wind speed is likely to reduce slightly before it makes landfall, India’s weather department is predicting the surge of water caused could be as high as 10-16 feet (more than 3-5 metres).

    The cyclone comes as ten of thousands of migrant workers flee cities for their villages during India’s lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.

    West Bengal and Orissa (Odisha) are among the Indian states that are seeing a larger number of them return.

    Orissa has now cancelled trains which were due to arrive with thousands of migrants between 18 and 20 May.

    And some district officials have barred entry into their areas and requested the state government to accommodate the migrants – many of whom are walking home – elsewhere until the storm passes.

    The evacuation is expected to continue into Wednesday morning. Bangladesh’s disaster management minister has told the BBC that they plan to evacuate about two million people to safety.

    Extra shelters have been prepared to allow for social distancing. Masks are also being distributed.

    State officials in India are also struggling to find shelters for evacuees. In Orissa, for instance, 250 of the more than 800 existing shelters are being used as coronavirus quarantine centres.

    So both states have asked for schools and other buildings in the areas likely to be hit by the super cyclone to be turned into temporary shelters – they need more than the usual numbers in order to house people while enforcing social distancing norms.

    Around 50,000 people have been evacuated from areas near the Sunderban islands in India.

    This would be the first super cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal since the 1999 super cyclone that hit the Orissa coast and killed more than 9,000 people.

    India’s meteorological department has issued a “yellow alert” for the region, advising fishermen not to “venture into the south Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours, and north Bay of Bengal from 18-20 May”.

    The weather department said the storm is likely to move across the north-west Bay of Bengal and cross West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts from noon local time on 20 May as a “very severe cyclonic storm”.

    It also warned of rough seas, with storm surges that could inundate coastal areas. India’s weather department is predicting that the surge of water due to the storm could be as high as 10-16 feet.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Bangladesh opens mosques as lockdown eases

    Mass prayers at mosques are now allowed in Bangladesh, which has more than 12,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 200 deaths.

    But a correspondent at The Dhaka Tribune newspaper found that many mosques in the capital, Dhaka, did not follow the required guidelines as they opened their doors for the first time on Thursday after a month.

    Most failed to arrange a hand sanitising station for visitors to use before entering and many people were not wearing masks, the newspaper reported.

    “There are some shortcomings in the arrangements according to the guidelines, as it is the first day,” Fazlul Haque, president of one of the mosques in the city, said while adding that they were “trying their hardest” to make sure the rules were enforced.

    In April, a Bangladeshi cleric tested positive for the virus after he led Ramadan prayers for a group of nearly two dozen, local media reported at the time. The incident prompted authorities to urge people to stay at home and restrict the congregation of people in mosques.

    In India, a mosque in the capital, Delhi, dominated news coverage last month after more than 1,000 cases were linked to a religious event held by a missionary group. The event spurred outrage as it sparked massive Covid-19 clusters in the country.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Bangladesh to turn back new Rohingya refugee boats – Minister

    Bangladesh will not accept two boats carrying hundreds of reportedly starving Rohingya refugees, the country’s foreign minister said Thursday as calls grew to rescue the Muslim outcasts.

    The new controversy over stranded Rohingya blew up just a week after dozens starved to death on a boat that was left at sea for two months before it could land.

    Activists are fearful that large numbers of Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority from mostly Buddhist Myanmar, may be trapped on boats and unable to reach other countries.

    The two latest boats are in international waters after human traffickers had tried to reach Malaysia, according to aid groups and a Rohingya community leader.

    Bangladesh has ordered increased patrols in the Bay of Bengal to stop the boats entering, Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen said.

    “Two boats carrying Rohingya are trying to get into our waters,” he said, adding that the vessels could have come from Myanmar’s Rakhine state following fighting between the military and rebel groups, or “somewhere else”.

    “Our navy and coastguard are on alert and they have been instructed not to let these boats enter Bangladesh,” Momen said.

    “No more Rohingya will be allowed in,” he added.

    About one million Rohingya are in camps on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border having fled decades of persecution in their home region in Rakhine. Many want to leave the camps for other more affluent Asian nations.

    Thousands of refugees died in the Andaman Sea in 2015 on rickety fishing vessels that tried to reach Malaysia and Thailand.

    The boat that came ashore last week with some 390 Rohingya was forced back by the Malaysian navy. The surviving Rohingya have been put into coronavirus pandemic quarantine, organised by the UN refugee agency.

    ‘Hunger problem’

    Rights group Amnesty International has said two fishing trawlers carrying some 500 Rohingya women, men and children are in the Bay of Bengal after being pushed away by Malaysia.

    Bangladesh should rescue the stranded Rohingya, Amnesty said in a statement, and other governments in the region should “fulfil their shared responsibility to carry out search and rescue efforts”.

    “We hope that Bangladesh will continue to welcome Rohingya refugees in these difficult times,” said Biraj Patnaik, Amnesty’s South Asia director.

    A Rohingya leader at one of the huge refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district said there were about 280 people in total on the two boats.

    “The Malaysian navy has turned them back. But the traffickers want to make another attempt to reach Malaysia,” said the leader, who had raised the alert about last week’s tragedy and spoke on condition of anonymity.

    “I heard there is a hunger problem in the boats. But the traffickers don’t want to bring them back to Bangladesh.” The community leader said the traffickers would only be paid if the refugees reach Malaysia.

    A week ago, Malaysia denied entry to a boat carrying around 200 Rohingya due to coronavirus fears, the air force said.

    Source: France24