All posts tagged: Bangladeshs

Bangladesh’s interim leader Yunus steps down as new gov’t set to take over | Sheikh Hasina News

Bangladesh’s interim leader Yunus steps down as new gov’t set to take over | Sheikh Hasina News

Published by Sam Flores

‘Let the practice of democracy continue,’ said Yunus, who has overseen the country’s post-uprising transition since 2024. Listen to this article | 3 mins info Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus has announced he is resigning to pave way for a new government elected several days ago. Speaking in a farewell broadcast to the nation on Monday, Yunus said the interim government he oversees “is stepping down”. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “But let the practice of democracy, freedom of speech, and fundamental rights that has begun not be halted,” he said. An 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, Yunus returned from self-imposed exile in August 2024 to serve as Bangladesh’s chief adviser after a student-led uprising toppled the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh held its first general elections since that uprising on February 12, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, won a landslide victory. Rahman, a scion of one of the country’s most powerful political dynasties, is set to serve as prime minister of the incoming government when it …

Bangladesh’s interim leader Yunus resigns, handing power to elected government

Bangladesh’s interim leader Yunus resigns, handing power to elected government

Published by Sam Flores

Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus stepped down on Monday in a farewell broadcast to the nation before handing over to an elected government. “Today, the interim government is stepping down,” the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner said. “But let the practice of democracy, freedom of speech, and fundamental rights that has begun not be halted.” Yunus returned from self-imposed exile in August 2024, days after the iron-fisted government of Sheikh Hasina was overthrown by a student-led uprising and she fled by helicopter to India. Read moreBangladesh’s ousted leader Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death for crimes against humanity “That was the day of great liberation,” he said. “What a day of joy it was! Bangladeshis across the world shed tears of happiness. The youth of our country freed it from the grip of a demon.” He has led Bangladesh as its “chief adviser” since, and now hands over power after congratulating the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its leader Tarique Rahman on a “landslide victory” in elections last week. “The people, voters, political parties, and stakeholder …

An Islamist party becomes Bangladesh’s main opposition for the first time : NPR

An Islamist party becomes Bangladesh’s main opposition for the first time : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Shafiqur Rahman, the leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, speaks during a Jamaat-led alliance rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 8. Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images DHAKA, Bangladesh – An Islamist party has become Bangladesh’s main opposition for the first time in the country’s history, challenging the old dynastic political system despite persistent concerns among critics about the party’s policies on women. Jamaat-e-Islami’s 11-party alliance won 77 of 300 seats in last week’s polls, according to final results announced by the country’s election commission on Sunday. Of those, Jamaat won 68, a record high. It had never before won more than 18 seats. The student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) won six and the remainder went to minor parties. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a landslide 212 seats, giving it the two-thirds majority and setting Tarique Rahman, who hails from a powerful political family, on course to become prime minister. Developments in Bangladesh are being closely watched beyond its borders. It is the world’s eighth-most populous country …

Bangladesh’s democratic reset? Voters back reforms but return old guard to power

Bangladesh’s democratic reset? Voters back reforms but return old guard to power

Published by Sam Flores

Naomi Hossain, global research professor at SOAS University of London, suggested familiarity and experience may have outweighed revolutionary appeal. BNP is headed by Tarique Rahman, 60, who spent 17 years in self-imposed exile before returning to lead the campaign. The party was founded in 1978 by his father and ex-Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman. It was last in power between 2001 and 2006 under Tarique’s mother, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. “Probably, the BNP looks like the safest pair of hands,” Hossain said. “The party has a track record of governance … presiding over relatively robust growth. Its record on the economy and development was reasonable.” Still, she cautioned that economic challenges loom large. “The manifestos have been a shopping list of nice things to have, but without any kind of costing or sense of how they will be paid for,” Hossain said. Bangladesh’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains among the lowest in the world. Domestic revenue mobilisation is weak and public services are underfunded – structural constraints that will test the new government, she added. REFORM PROMISES AND …

The Download: Helping cancer survivors to give birth, and cleaning up Bangladesh’s garment industry

The Download: Helping cancer survivors to give birth, and cleaning up Bangladesh’s garment industry

Published by skeptic

An experimental surgical procedure that’s helping people have babies after they’ve had  treatment for bowel or rectal cancer. Radiation and chemo can have pretty damaging side effects that mess up the uterus and ovaries. Surgeons are pioneering a potential solution: simply stitch those organs out of the way during cancer treatment. Once the treatment has finished, they can put the uterus—along with the ovaries and fallopian tubes—back into place. It seems to work! Last week, a team in Switzerland shared news that a baby boy had been born after his mother had the procedure. Baby Lucien was the fifth baby to be born after the surgery and the first in Europe, and since then at least three others have been born. Read the full story. —Jessica Hamzelou This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here.  Bangladesh’s garment-making industry is getting greener Pollution from textile production—dyes, chemicals, and heavy metals—is common in the waters …

IMF projects Bangladesh’s GDP to rebound to 4.7% in fiscal 2026

IMF projects Bangladesh’s GDP to rebound to 4.7% in fiscal 2026

Published by Sam Flores

Jan 30 : The International Monetary Fund on Friday said Bangladesh’s gross domestic product is expected to rebound to 4.7 per cent in the fiscal year 2026, following a recent economic slowdown. “With implementation of policies to mobilize tax revenue and address financial sector vulnerabilities, (Bangladesh’s) growth is projected to rebound to 4.7 per cent in FY26 and gradually accelerate to around 6 per cent over the medium term,” the IMF said. “Inflation is projected to remain elevated at 8.9 per cent in FY26 before subsiding to around 6 per cent in FY27,” it added in a statement. Source link

Bangladesh’s Stalled Student Revolution | Cyrus Naji

Bangladesh’s Stalled Student Revolution | Cyrus Naji

Published by José Betancourt

When she was sentenced to death by a court in Dhaka last November, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the ousted prime minister of Bangladesh, was typically defiant. From the New Delhi bungalow allotted to her by the government of India, she said she was “very proud” of her “record on human rights and development.” But as Bangladeshis took to the streets to celebrate the verdict, which after all was symbolic, they remembered a very different legacy. Hasina first served as prime minister from 1996 to 2001, then came to power again in 2009. Over the subsequent fifteen years, according to the Bangladeshi human rights organization Ain o Salish Kendra, her security forces carried out two thousand extrajudicial killings. They abducted more than 1,800 people and detained them in a network of secret sites known as Aynaghor, or the House of Mirrors. (A commission investigating these disappearances believes that the real figure may be two to three times greater.) Relying on brute force and a pliant judiciary, Hasina launched an assault on the country’s main opposition parties, the …

Bangladesh’s garment-making industry is getting greener

Bangladesh’s garment-making industry is getting greener

Published by skeptic

Water reclaimed at the factory’s sewage treatment plant is used in the facility’s restrooms.ZAKIR HOSSAIN CHOWDHURY It’s a good start, but Bangladesh’s $40 billion garment industry still has a long way to go. The shift to environmentalism at the factory level hasn’t translated to improved outcomes for the sector’s 4.4 million workers.  Wage theft and delayed payments are widespread. The minimum wage, some 12,500 taka per month (about $113), is far below the $200 proposed by unions—which has meant frequent strikes and protests over pay, overtime, and job security. “Since Rana Plaza, building safety and factory conditions have improved, but the mindset remains unchanged,” says A.K.M. Ashraf Uddin, executive director of the Bangladesh Labour Foundation, a nonprofit labor rights group. “Profit still comes first, and workers’ freedom of speech is yet to be realized.” The smaller factories that dominate the garment sector may struggle to invest in green upgrades.ZAKIR HOSSAIN CHOWDHURY In the worst case, greener industry practices could actually exacerbate inequality. Smaller factories dominate the sector, and they struggle to afford upgrades. But without …