In recent years Australia has started to shift its focus westward. While the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia have been deemed primary areas of interest for the country, the Indo-Pacific construct has led Australia to take its Indian Ocean opportunities more seriously. Mostly this has led to greater cooperation with India as the region’s primary … Read more
Rows and rows of neatly set blocks of two-roomed tenements line the eastern corner of Bhasan Char, a 40-square kilometer sand-bar island off the coast of Bangladesh on the Bay of Bengal within Bangladesh’s territorial waters. Women cradle their babies in the narrow and cramped balconies of this sprawling mass of concrete while the men … Read more
Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus is facing jail time. On January 1, a Bangladeshi labor court convicted Yunus for violating the country’s labor laws and sentenced him to six months in prison. Yunus is facing charges of money laundering, tax evasion and corruption in some 198 cases. His jail term is yet to … Read more
An Indonesian search and rescue ship yesterday rescued dozens of Rohingya refugees from a capsized wooden boat off the coast of Aceh, underscoring the peril of the ocean journeys from Bangladesh. According to a report from The Associated Press, which had a photographer aboard the Indonesian vessel, 59 people were saved by the search and … Read more
On February 6, 264 members of Myanmar’s border and security forces took shelter in Bangladesh to escape heavy fighting between Myanmar’s army and the Arakan Army. They were disarmed by the members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and taken to a safe shelter. Those who sustained critical injuries were given treatment at local hospitals. It … Read more
Following yet another one-sided general election in January, which saw the ruling Awami League (AL) return to power for the fourth straight term, Bangladeshi social media influencers launched an “India Out” campaign, mirroring similar campaigns seen in the Maldives. The India Out campaign reflects public discontent among sections of the Bangladeshi public regarding not only … Read more
A six-story shopping mall that caught fire in the Bangladeshi capital had no fire exits, the country’s prime minister said Friday, as the death toll climbed to at least 46 and rescuers continued to search for more victims. The fire started late Thursday in a restaurant on the first floor of the Green Cozy Cottage … Read more
Since the Three Brotherhood Alliance. a coalition of three ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) — the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Arakan Army (AA) — launched Operation 1027 against the military junta on October 27 last year, Myanmar’s long-running civil war has taken a new turn. Its impact … Read more
Following her victory in the disputed general elections in January, which was boycotted by the opposition, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received congratulatory messages from several Asian and allied nations, including India, China, and Russia. However, powerful Western democracies like the United States and United Kingdom expressed concern over the election’s legitimacy. A month later, … Read more
It was a typical day in April 2018, the hottest month in Bangladesh. Rasel Miah, a 14-year-old boy hailing from Phulbari Upazila in Kurigram, accompanied his father Md Hanif Uddin, a farmer, to their field near the Bangladesh-India border, just beyond the 150-yard No Man’s Land. As the sun began to set, Miah and his … Read more