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☆ Bangladesh Welcomes Biden Letter on Support for Economic Goals
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

DHAKA (Reuters) - President Joe Biden said the U.S. is willing to work with Bangladesh to help the South Asian nation achieve its economic goals, nearly a month after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sworn in following an election boycotted by the opposition. Biden made his comments in a letter to Hasina, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told reporters on Monday, adding through this letter ties between the two countries will advance further. Hasina and her party won a fourth straight term in the Jan. 7 election, which the main opposition dismissed as a sham. "We welcome the letter written by President Biden. "The United States is committed to supporting Bangladesh's ambitious economic goals and partnering with Bangladesh on our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," Biden said in his letter, provided to reporters.

Persons: Joe Biden, Sheikh Hasina, Biden, Hasina, Hasan Mahmud, Mahmud, Ruma Paul, Sharon Singleton Organizations: U.S . State Department, Reuters, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP Locations: DHAKA, U.S, Bangladesh, United States, Dhaka didn't, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Bangladesh opposition vows to continue protests despite 'autocratic' crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) join in a rally at Naya Paltan area in Dhaka, Bangladesh, October 28, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDHAKA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Bangladesh’s main opposition party said on Wednesday it would continue its anti-government protests despite what a rights group called an "autocratic crackdown" ahead of a general election in January. At least four people, including a policeman, have been killed and hundreds injured in violent protests across the country in the past few weeks, police said. In order to end this misrule and lawlessness, the ongoing movement must be accelerated and the victory of the people must be ensured,” senior BNP official Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said. “Diplomatic partners should make clear that the government’s autocratic crackdown will jeopardise future economic cooperation,” the rights group said in a statement quoting Bleckner.

Persons: Mohammad Ponir Hossain, Sheikh Hasina, ” Abdul Moyeen Khan, ”, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Hasina, “, League’s, Julia Bleckner, Khaleda Zia, Ruma Paul, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP, REUTERS, Rights DHAKA, Reuters, Police, Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch, “, Thomson Locations: Naya Paltan, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Asia

REUTERS/Mohammad... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreDHAKA, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's main opposition party will boycott the next general election if Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina does not make way for a neutral government to conduct the poll, two party leaders said, amid a crackdown on opposition politicians and deadly protests. "The intensified crackdown on opposition party leaders and protesters over the weekend signals an attempt at a complete clamp-down on dissent," said Yasasmin Kaviratne, Amnesty's regional campaigner for South Asia. Hasina's main rival and two-time premier, BNP leader Khaleda Zia, is effectively under house arrest for what her party calls trumped-up corruption charges. Shakil Ahmed, an assistant professor at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, said street violence had become "regular in Bangladesh during the transfer of power". Reporting by Krishna N. Das in New Delhi and Ruma Paul in Dhaka; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sheikh Hasina, Hasina, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Zahir Uddin Swapon, Yasasmin Kaviratne, Khaleda Zia, BNP's, Tarique Rahman, Shakil Ahmed, Krishna N, Ruma Paul, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP, REUTERS, Reuters, Amnesty, Police, Jahangirnagar University, Das, Thomson Locations: Dhaka, Bangladesh, Mohammad, DHAKA, United States, Canada, India, South Asia, New Delhi

☆ Two killed in anti-government protest in Bangladesh
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) called for the blockade of roads for three days in response to clashes between party supporters and police on Sunday in which one policeman was killed and more than 100 people were injured. The party has been calling on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign to allow elections scheduled for January to be held under a neutral caretaker government. A police official in the central district of Kishoreganj, where the clashes took place, said two protesters were killed and dozens of people, including 15 policemen, were injured. “Clashes erupted when they attacked us," said the police official, who declined to be identified, adding it was not clear how the two were killed. Accusations of vote-rigging and the suppression of the opposition, denied by the government, marred elections in 2014 and 2018.

Persons: Sheikh Hasina, “, General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Hasina, Ruma Paul, Robert Birsel Organizations: Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP, United, Thomson Locations: Dhaka, Bangladesh, DHAKA, Kishoreganj, United States

☆ Opposition activists held over policeman's death in Bangladesh protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Unidentified miscreants set a public bus on fire during a countrywide strike from dawn to dusk called by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), protesting against the alleged police attacks on their Saturday rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, October 29, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain Acquire Licensing RightsDHAKA, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Bangladesh police said on Sunday they arrested two opposition activists over the death of a policeman in violent protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The officer was beaten and bludgeoned to death on Saturday by a mob, photos and videos showed, as tens of thousands joined demonstrations in the capital Dhaka, led by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). A police source said one of the two arrested was a BNP youth leader while the other's affiliation was unconfirmed. The BNP did not comment on the officer's death but called on supporters to block streets for three days from Tuesday in protest at the detentions.

Persons: Mohammad Ponir Hossain, Sheikh Hasina, bludgeoned, Mirza Alamgir, Habibur Rahman, Asaduzzaman Khan, Mizanur Rahman, Critics, Hasina, Ruma Paul, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP, REUTERS, Rights, Sunday, Thomson Locations: Dhaka, Bangladesh, Rights DHAKA

☆ Opposition Activists Held Over Policeman's Death in Bangladesh Protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh police said on Sunday they arrested two opposition activists over the death of a policeman in violent protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The officer was beaten and bludgeoned to death on Saturday by a mob, photos and videos showed, as tens of thousands joined demonstrations in the capital Dhaka, led by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). "We'll ensure toughest punishment for those who were involved in the killing," Dhaka metropolitan police commissioner Habibur Rahman told reporters. A police source said one of the two arrested was a BNP youth leader while the other's affiliation was unconfirmed. The BNP did not comment on the officer's death but called on supporters to block streets for three days from Tuesday in protest at the detentions.

Persons: Sheikh Hasina, bludgeoned, Mirza Alamgir, Habibur Rahman, Asaduzzaman Khan, Mizanur Rahman, Critics, Hasina, Ruma Paul, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Sunday, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP Locations: DHAKA, Bangladesh, Dhaka

☆ Bangladesh opposition protest turns violent amid calls for PM to resign
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) wave party flag during a rally at Naya Paltan area in Dhaka, Bangladesh, October 28, 2023. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as clashes erupted when tens of thousands of supporters of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) gathered in the capital Dhaka, chanting slogans against the government. Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruq Hossain told reporters one officer had been killed and 41 others were injured in clashes with protesters. Hundreds of opposition party activists have been arrested, BNP leaders said. "I came to protest the enforced disappearances, murders, and oppression that we have suffered for the past 15 years.

Persons: Mohammad Ponir Hossain, Sheikh Hasina, Faruq Hossain, Hasina, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Arif Khan, jailing, Washington, Ruma Paul, Mike Harrison Organizations: Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP, REUTERS, Rights, Police, Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Security, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Naya Paltan, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Rights DHAKA

Bangladesh’s multiparty democracy is being methodically strangled in crowded courtrooms across this country of 170 million people. Nearly every day, thousands of leaders, members and supporters of opposition parties stand before a judge. Charges are usually vague, and evidence is shoddy, at best. But just months before a pivotal election pitting them against the ruling Awami League, the immobilizing effect is clear. About half of the five million members of the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, are embroiled in politically motivated court cases, the group estimates.

Organizations: Awami League, Bangladesh Nationalist Party Locations: Dhaka

☆ Bangladesh police clash with opposition supporters calling on PM to resign
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DHAKA, July 29 (Reuters) - Bangladesh police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at stone-throwing opposition party supporters blocking major roads in the capital Dhaka on Saturday to demand the prime minister’s resignation. The main opposition party, in disarray since its leader Khaleda Zia was jailed in 2018 on graft charges, has held bigger protest rallies in recent months, including one on Friday, drawing tens of thousands of supporters amid anger over the cost of living. They were only trying to ease the traffic flow,” said Faruq Ahmed, a spokesman for the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. [1/5]Supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) attack armed vehicles of police at Shonir Akhra area, during their sit-in rallies on the main entry points of the capital Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 29, 2023. Concern flared after accusations of vote-rigging and suppressing the opposition marred elections in 2014 and 2018.

Persons: Khaleda Zia, Sheikh Hasina, ”, Faruq Ahmed, “, Mohammad Ponir Hossain, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Hasina, jailing, Ruma Paul, Giles Elgood Organizations: Bangladesh, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP, Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Police, REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: DHAKA, Dhaka, Shonir, Bangladesh, United States

☆ Bangladesh opposition holds protests to demand resignation of PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir HossainDHAKA, July 28 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of supporters of Bangladesh’s main opposition party rallied in the capital on Friday to demand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and call for general elections to be held under a caretaker government. This can only be achieved through a free and fair election, which is not possible under the current regime," senior BNP leader Abdul Moyeen Khan told Reuters. BNP supporters joined the rally in Dhaka from different parts of the country amid allegations of obstructions by police. The opposition and rights groups have criticised the government for cracking down on anti-government protests. Concern flared after accusations of vote-rigging and the targeting of the political opposition marred national elections in 2014 and 2018.

Persons: Mohammad Ponir Hossain, Sheikh Hasina’s, Khaleda Zia, Hasina, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Sana Ullah, Mirza Abbas, Khaleda, Sheikh Hasina, Ruma Paul, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP, Bangladesh Awami League, REUTERS, Reuters, Hasina’s Awami League, Thomson Locations: Naya Palton, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Mohammad Ponir Hossain DHAKA, Chittagong, United States

Millions of Bangladeshi citizens have been hit by frequent power cuts in recent months, as erratic weather patterns and high global energy prices have made fuel supply to power plants unreliable. "We are experiencing power cuts every other hour and there is hardly any gas to cook. Zainul Abdin Farroque, a senior leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, accused the government of not doing enough to ensure reliable power supply despite hiking tariffs. Power supply was about 17% short of demand on Monday while the deficit was more than 14% on Sunday, data from Bangladesh's grid operator showed. Bangladesh's other floating LNG unit, the Moheshkhali LNG terminal, will resume operations "in the next few days", Petrobangla Chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker told Reuters.

New Delhi CNN —Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Dhaka on Saturday calling for the dissolution of parliament to make way for new elections, and demand the resignation of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Saturday’s protest comes amid a flurry of demonstrations in Bangladesh calling on Hasina to step down and demanding new elections. The Bangladesh Election Commission has not announced a date for the next general election, which is due by the end of 2023. Supporters of Bangladesh's opposition party protest against the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on December 10, 2022. “Concerned governments should publicly call on the prime minister to allow Bangladeshis to freely engage in peaceful political activities,” she said.

☆ White House calls on Bangladesh to investigate reports of pre-election violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Bangladeshi policemen run to disperse Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activists gathered in front of the party's central office before clash in Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 7, 2022. REUTERS/StringerWASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday called on the government of Bangladesh to fully investigate reports of violence against journalists and human rights activists ahead of a major political protest, and urged all parties to refrain from violence. "We call on all parties in Bangladesh to respect the rule of law, to refrain from violence. Kirby said Washington was also urging government authorities in Bangladesh to "fully investigate reports of violence in a thorough, transparent and impartial manner." The protest comes ahead of national elections planned in Bangladesh next year.

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