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☆ Bangladesh struggles to pay for fuel imports as dollar crisis worsens -letters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DHAKA, May 22 (Reuters) - Bangladesh is struggling to pay for imported fuel because of a dollar shortage, letters reviewed by Reuters show, with the state petroleum company owing more than $300 million as it faces an "alarming decrease in fuel reserves". Heavily reliant on energy imports, Bangladesh is grappling with power cuts resulting from a fuel shortage that have badly hurt its exports-oriented garments industry. BPC imports 500,000 tonnes of refined oil and 100,000 tonnes of crude oil every month. The April letter said several fuel suppliers had either sent fewer cargoes than scheduled or threatened to halt supplies. Others in South Asia, such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan, have also sought or received IMF funds this year.

DHAKA, May 18 (Reuters) - Apparel makers in Bangladesh are considering rare bulk exports by air to Europe and the United States, as they race to meet deadlines and avoid cancellations after a cyclone delayed shipments, caused power cuts and disrupted production. Bangladesh, the world's second-largest garment exporter, has already been hit by weakening global demand, with exports falling in both March and April. Another garment owner who supplies H&M said some of his shipments had been delayed. Power cuts in the last two months, first due to a scorching heatwave, and then the cyclone, have put more stress on apparel companies. "Now there are also chances of missing orders for the next season, as we are struggling to provide samples on time due to the regular power cuts," Ehsan said.

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.

☆ Powerful cyclone barrels towards Myanmar, Bangladesh; 400,000 evacuated
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But many more could suffer as the storm moves inland from the Bay of Bengal, the United Nations Satellite Centre has warned. "People at risk are in the process of being transferred to safe shelters and we are also arranging relief packages," said Farah Kabir of ActionAid Bangladesh. Most refugees live in makeshift dwellings in the densely packed camps after having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. "We have arranged for meals in co-operation with local residents but if this becomes long-term, there will be more problems." About 6 million people are already in need of humanitarian assistance and 1.2 million are displaced in Rakhine and the northwest, OCHA says.

☆ Cyclone Mocha heads to Bangladesh, Myanmar coasts as thousands flee
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DHAKA, May 13 (Reuters) - A powerful storm packing winds of up to 175 kph (109 mph) barrelled towards the coasts of eastern Bangladesh and Myanmar on Saturday, threatening around a million Rohingya refugees and others living in low-lying areas. Thousands of people in both countries have already fled to safer areas ahead of the storm. Cyclone Mocha is likely to intensify further and make landfall on Sunday between Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh and Myanmar, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said in a bulletin. Cox's Bazar, a southeastern border district, is where more than a million Rohingya refugees live, most of them having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. At least 10,000 have left their homes in Myanmar's Rakhine state for safer areas, local media reported.

☆ Rohingya say will not go home to Myanmar to be stuck in camps
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DHAKA, May 6 (Reuters) - Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh said on Saturday they would not return to Myanmar to "be confined in camps" after making their first return visit as part of efforts to encourage their voluntary repatriation. Nearly a million Rohingya Muslims live in squalid camps in the Bangladeshi border district of Cox's Bazar. Myanmar is offering Rohingya national verification cards (NVC), which Rohingya refugees regard as inadequate. A Myanmar delegation, however, visited the camps in March to verify a few hundred returnees for a pilot repatriation project. “UNHCR maintains that dialogue with the Rohingya refugees is a must to make an informed decision,” the agency said in a statement.

☆ Rohingya say they won't return to Myanmar to be stuck in camps
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DHAKA, May 6 (Reuters) - Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh said on Saturday they would not return to Myanmar to "be confined in camps" after making a visit to the country as part of efforts to encourage their voluntary repatriation. Myanmar is offering Rohingya national verification cards (NVC), which Rohingya refugees regard as inadequate. “Myanmar is our birthplace and we are citizens of Myanmar and will go back with citizenship,” said refugee Abu Sufian, 35. Bangladeshi officials have made several trips to Myanmar as part of efforts to get repatriation going, but this was the first by Rohingya refugees since 2017. A Myanmar delegation, however, visited the camps in March to verify a few hundred returnees for a pilot repatriation project.

DHAKA, April 20 (Reuters) - Bangladesh is being forced to cut power to millions of people as a relentless heatwave has led to a surge in demand for power resulting in massive electricity supply shortfalls. Greater use of irrigation pumps by farmers and an increase in commercial activity due to preparations for festivities for the end of the holy month of Ramadan have contributed to increased power demand, officials say. Power shortages have been most severe at night, government data showed. The average maximum temperature in Dhaka was 6.5% higher during the seven days ended on Tuesday, compared with the week before, government data showed. Overall electricity supply fell short of demand by 6.2% over the seven days to Tuesday, government data showed, as demand surged nearly 15% compared with the preceding seven days.

"These workers are at high risk of forced labour and severe destitution," said independent labour activist Andy Hall, whose team has been in contact with the migrant workers. The International Labour Organisation ranks deception, along with debt bondage stemming from the large recruitment fee, and passport seizure among its indicators of 'forced labour'. Two of Sivakumar's aides were arrested by anti-graft authorities this month over an investigation into recruitment of foreign workers. Malaysia has faced accusations of forced labour in manufacturing and palm oil production over the years, including some by the United States, which banned imports from several of its firms for such practices. A Bangladeshi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters there were a "few hundred" of its citizens stuck in Malaysia without jobs.

☆ Bangladesh to pay Russia in yuan for nuclear plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 17 (Reuters) - Bangladesh and Russia have agreed to use yuan to settle payment for a nuclear plant Moscow is building in the South Asian country, a Bangladesh government official said on Monday. Bangladesh is constructing the first of two nuclear power plants in collaboration with Russia's state-owned atomic company Rosatom in a $12.65 billion project, 90% of which is financed through a Russian loan repayable within 28 years, with a 10-year grace period. "Russia wanted us to make payment in rouble but that's not possible for us. So we have agreed to pay in Chinese yuan," Uttam Kumar Karmaker, a senior official in the Bangladesh Economic Relations Division, told Reuters. Reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan proposes industrial hub in Bangladesh with supply chains to India
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, April 11 Reuters) - Japan has proposed developing an industrial hub in Bangladesh with supply chains to the landlocked northeastern states of India, and to Nepal and Bhutan beyond by developing a port and transport in the region, officials said on Tuesday. It comes after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to India last month in which he touted the idea of a new industrial hub for the Bay of Bengal and northeast India that could bolster development in the impoverished region of 300 million people. "It can be a win-win plan for India and Bangladesh," Hiroshi Suzuki, Japan's ambassador to India, said on Tuesday, citing the industrial hub proposal at a meeting of Indian, Bangladeshi and Japanese officials in Agartala, the Tripura state capital. He said the deep seaport was likely to become operational by 2027 and would be a key to building an industrial hub connecting the Bangladeshui capital Dhaka to landlocked areas of India. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit Japan from April 25-28 at Kishida's invitation, a government statement said.

☆ Firefighters, army work to douse massive fire in Bangladesh market
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Firefighters try to douse a fire that broke out in a clothing market in Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 4, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir HossainDHAKA, April 4 (Reuters) - Firefighters and army personnel were working on Tuesday to douse a massive fire that raged through a shopping complex with 3,000 shops in Bangladesh's capital of Dhaka, fire officials said. Fire service official Rashid Bin Khalid told Reuters 50 fire units were working to douse the fire, the cause of which was not known immediately. Smoke engulfed the area and flames were seen rising from the complex, hampering rescue efforts, a fire official said. Reporting by Ruma Paul; Writing by by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Krishna N. Das and Lincoln Feast.

☆ At least 19 killed in bus accident in Bangladesh
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DHAKA, March 19 (Reuters) - A speeding bus veered off a major expressway in central Bangladesh and plunged into a ditch, killing at least 19 people and injured dozens, police said. The death toll could rise further as some of the injured passengers are in critical condition, said Anowar Hossain, police official of Shibchar, where the crash occurred. The bus, carrying more than 40 passengers, fell about 9 metres (30 feet) into a roadside ditch after breaking through the railing of the newly-built Padma river bridge expressway, Hossain said. The driver, who was killed, appeared to have lost control of the vehicle after the tyre of the bus burst, he said, adding that the cause of the accident was under investigation. Road accidents are common in Bangladesh, often blamed on reckless driving, old vehicles and poor safety rules, and killing thousands each year.

☆ Myanmar team in Bangladesh camps for Rohingya repatriation pilot project
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DHAKA, March 15 (Reuters) - A Myanmar delegation is visiting Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh this week to verify a few hundred potential returnees for a pilot repatriation project, though a Bangladeshi official said it was unclear when they would be going home. Nearly one million Rohingya Muslim refugees are living in camps in the border district of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, most having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. "The international community are playing ping pong with the Rohingya," Tun Khin, president of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, told Reuters. "Rohingya refugees face an impossible choice. Stay in terrible conditions in refugee camps where rations are being cut, or return to their home country where genocidal policies continue.

☆ Explosion kills 15 in crowded market in Bangladesh capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Firefighters and rescue workers are seen on the site of an explosion in a multi storey building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir HossainDHAKA, March 7 (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed and several others injured in an explosion in a crowded market area in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on Tuesday, a local fire service official said. A bus standing on the opposite side of the building was also damaged in the blast," fire service official Dinomoni Sharma said. It follows the death of three people in an explosion in Dhaka on SundayOn Sunday, three were killed in a suspected gas explosion in Dhaka. On Saturday, seven people were killed and several injured when a fire broke out following an explosion at an oxygen plant in southeastern Bangladesh.

DHAKA, March 5 (Reuters) - A "major" fire that broke out at a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh on Sunday, destroying several homes, is now under control, police officials told Reuters, adding that there were no casualties. The blaze hit Camp 11 in Cox's Bazar, a border district where more than a million Rohingya refugees live, with most having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017, Rafiqul Islam, additional police superintendent at Cox's Bazar told Reuters. Faruque Ahmed, a local police official, said the cause of the fire was not clear. The refugee camps in Cox's Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh are prone to such blazes. While the fire in 2022 only damaged homes, the massive blaze in 2021 killed at least 15 refugees and destroyed over 10,000 homes.

☆ At least six killed in blast at oxygen plant in Bangladesh
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DHAKA, March 4 (Reuters) - At least six people were killed and several injured on Saturday when a fire broke out following an explosion at an oxygen plant in southeastern Bangladesh, officials said. The death toll could rise as a rescue operation was ongoing at the plant at Sitakunda, 40 km (25 miles) from the southeastern port city of Chittagong, they added. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, a fire service official said. “Six bodies were recovered from the site," local government official Shahadat Hossain told Reuters, adding a rescue operation was continuing. A massive fire at a container depot in the area killed 50 people and injured nearly 200 in June last year.

"High spot LNG prices and dwindling domestic production will mean that Pakistan will continue facing issues with ramping up gas-fired power generation," said Poorna Rajendran, LNG consultant at FGE. Despite LNG prices having fallen from last year's record highs, the superchilled fuel is still expensive for South Asian buyers as their currencies have weakened sharply, making it hard for them to boost LNG imports this year. Ship tracking data from Kpler shows Pakistan's LNG imports in 2022 fell 17% from the previous year to a five-year low. Bangladesh's LNG imports in 2022 fell 14% from the previous year, according to Kpler, which drove down power output while demand was rising. LNG prices are unlikely to ease enough to help Bangladesh and Pakistan, with analysts expecting a rebound in Chinese purchases to push prices up in 2023.

REUTERS/Ruma PaulCOX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Mohammed Ismail says four of his relatives were killed by gunmen at the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh between April and October last year. The group has fought against Myanmar's security forces and some Rohingya say it has been recruiting fighters, often through coercion, in the Bangladesh camps. Ismail, who lives with his parents, wife and brother, says he fears for his life and understands why some Rohingya are fleeing Bangladesh. A FRAUGHT CHOICEReuters spoke with several refugees who returned to the Bangladesh camps after abandoning journeys to Malaysia, via Myanmar, out of trepidation. "People are risking their lives on sea journeys as there is no future here and criminal activities are rising," Aziz said.

[1/2] Rohingya refugees rescued by fishermen are seen on a boat behind a patrol boat near the coast of Seunuddon beach in North Aceh, Indonesia, June 24, 2020. In Buddhist-majority Myanmar, most Rohingya are denied citizenship and are seen as illegal immigrants from South Asia. Nearly 200 Rohingya are feared dead or missing at sea this year already. "We hope against hope that the 180 missing are still alive somewhere out there", said UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch. Two boats carrying a total of 230 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, landed on the shores of Indonesia's Aceh province in November, while this month, Sri Lanka's navy rescued 104 Rohingya adrift off the Indian Ocean island's northern coast.

☆ At least a 100 Rohingya stranded in boat off India's coast, many dead, activists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Dec 21 (Reuters) - At least 100 ethnic Rohingya are stranded in a boat off India's Andaman Islands and as many as 16-20 may have have died of thirst, hunger or drowned, said two Myanmar Rohingya activist groups. Each year many Rohingya, members of a Muslim minority, risk their lives boarding rickety vessels to escape violence in Myanmar and squalor in Bangladesh refugee camps. A spokesperson for the Indian Navy said he did not have any details to share. Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network’s Rohingya Working Group said the group had been adrift for more than two weeks. "We hope that the Indian Navy or Coastguard will manage to rescue and disembark the boat as soon as possible.

☆ Cyclone lashes Bangladesh killing nine, flooding low-lying areas
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DHAKA, Oct 25 (Reuters) - A cyclone roared into the Bangladesh coast on Tuesday, killing at least 9 people, destroying houses, uprooting trees and disrupting road, power and communication links, officials said. Mass evacuations before Cyclone Sitrang made landfall on the west coast helped save lives but the full extent of the casualties and damage would only be known after communications are restored, they said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPower and telephone links have been largely cut and coastal areas plunged into darkness, officials said. Environmentalists warn that climate change could lead to more disasters, especially in places like densely populated Bangladesh. "When extreme weather events like Cyclone Sitrang strike, communities are left devastated.

☆ Bangladesh ferry accident kills 25, several missing
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The bodies recovered so far included 12 women and eight children, said Jahurul Islam, district administrator of northern Panchagarh, where the accident occurred. "The rescue operation for those missing is ongoing," he said, adding the ferry was taking mostly devotees to a Hindu temple on the occasion of Mahalaya. Police said nearly 20 people were still missing while some of the passengers managed to swim ashore or were rescued. Hundreds of people die each year in ferry accidents in Bangladesh, a low-lying country that has extensive inland waterways and lax safety standards. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Ruma Paul Editing by Peter Graff and Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

read moreAnd Pakistan's central bank reserves of $8.6 billion are sufficient for just about a month of imports. However, the Bangladesh central bank's executive director, Serajul Islam, told Reuters, "No such decision has been taken yet," in reference to trade in local currencies with India. Last week, the Bangladesh central bank freed up banks to do transactions in Chinese yuan, so as to enable trade with China. "SBI's circular is very alarming, as they have said not to take exposure on Bangladesh exports," the exporter added. "Bangladesh is a major trading partner and if a premier bank like SBI does not take exposure, how will the trade grow?

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