Bangladesh

An air service agreement between Bangladesh and the U.S. is just one sign of growing relations between the countries. (Source photo by Reuters) 
International relations

US rush to Bangladesh revs up economic race with China

Washington signs air pact with Dhaka to further Indo-Pacific agenda

6 October 2020
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received a call from the U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper earlier this month, offering to help the South Asian country modernize its military by 2030. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Akira Kodaka and Reuters)
International relations

US uses defense diplomacy to woo Bangladesh away from China

Washington sees Dhaka as an 'emerging' ally in its Indo-Pacific strategy

22 September 2020
Rohingya refugees rest after the boat carrying them landed in Lhokseumawe, Aceh province, Indonesia, on Sep. 7: this is sadly nothing new.
Opinion

Rohingya are being left to die at sea. Does anyone care?

Asia's governments must put politics aside to protect the lives of desperate people

16 September 2020
The Central Park of Japan's north, Odori Koen: Sapporo is Japan's fifth-largest city by population. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
Japan immigration

Bangladeshi tech talent heads to Japan's north to Sapporo expat scene

Cool weather, less crowding and lower cost of living draw foreign job seekers

4 September 2020
India, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pictured at top left, and China under President Xi Jinping, lower right, are seeking to cement closer ties with Bangladesh through delivery of coronavirus vaccines. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters and AFP/Jiji)
International relations

China and India vie for clout in Bangladesh with COVID vaccines

Russia also seeks a foothold as powers jockey for geopolitical influence

4 September 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves at the 150th-anniversary celebration of Kolkata Port Trust on Jan. 12 in Kolkata, India. 
Economy

Modi calls for 'trustworthy' supply chains, in alternative to China

Japan adds India and Bangladesh as eligible sites for relocation subsidies

4 September 2020
Workers assemble air conditioners for Japan's Daikin Industries at a plant in Neemrana, India.
Economy

Japan adds India and Bangladesh to 'China exit' subsidy destinations

Industry ministry launches second round of program to diversify supply chains

4 September 2020
A medical personnel uses a bag-mask valve at an isolation facility in Metro Manila on May 1: few problems are insurmountable when collaborative science rise to the occasion.
Opinion

Reimagining Asia's response to COVID-19

Purpose-driven leadership, digital transformation and collective effort are critical

19 August 2020
Foreign workers on a construction site in Ahmadi, Kuwait, are threatened not only by COVID-19 but also potentially by unemployment in a draft law. 
International relations

Kuwaiti dream of cutting foreign workers threatens Indians most

Fewer jobs, cheaper oil and COVID-19 may reduce Filipinos and Pakistanis as well

13 August 2020
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed is welcomed by President Xi Jinping to Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in July 2019.
International relations

China's economic clout chills Bangladesh-India relations

Dhaka warned against becoming a theater for proxy wars between regional powers

11 August 2020
The coronavirus has devastated Bangladesh, but the nation, considered among the world's most corrupt, has also harmed itself with a fake negative test scandal.
Coronavirus

Bangladesh fears loss of trust amid fake coronavirus test scandal

Italy, Japan, China and South Korea stop flights as scam's repercussions hit

28 July 2020
Beximco is now producing 50 million pieces of personal protective equipment a month.
Pharmaceuticals

Bangladesh's Beximco thrives on coronavirus challenges

Company first to clone remdesivir also supplying US agencies with protective gear

26 July 2020
Employees work at a factory supplier of the H&M brand in Kandal province, pictured in December 2018: the garment industry is one of the very few job creators in Cambodia.
Opinion

Asia's garment industry should drive post-COVID economic recovery

Rich Western and Asian nations must support millions of workers

25 July 2020
An LNG transport vessel. The power plant project is the first out Dhaka is the first one in the country that has received Japanese backing.
Energy

Bangladesh LNG power plant backed by $645m in Japanese lending

Public and private financing to support project part-owned by JERA

15 July 2020
Migrant workers, mostly from Bangladesh, line up to collect free masks and have their temperatures taken in Singapore in February.
Economy

Bangladesh weighs paying for infrastructure with remittances

Migrant workers build record foreign reserves, but IMF urges caution

13 July 2020
Confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths have been lower in Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps than in surrounding host communities. (Photo by Mohamad Hafiz Johari)
Asia Insight

Rohingya scapegoated as Bangladesh battles COVID-19

Pandemic threatens aid to both poor host communities and refugees

7 July 2020
Muhammad Yunus, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, says that economic thinking has focused on business as something that is pursued out of self-interest. But he stresses that now more emphasis should be placed on the common interest.
Coronavirus

Nobel laureate Yunus sees COVID-19 as chance to redesign economy

Bangladeshi microcredit founder says common interest must now take precedence

5 July 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in new opportunities for corruption in Bangladesh. (Source photos by Reuters and EPA/Jiji)
Politics

Bangladesh dirty money fight complicated by coronavirus twist

Overcharging for essential medical equipment scars Hasina's anti-graft campaign

21 June 2020
A family wait outside a railway station in New Delhi on June 1: COVID-19 has laid bare the weakness of South Asia's economies.
Opinion

South Asia risks coronavirus lost decade

India and Pakistan's poor disease management will cost them dearly

17 June 2020
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spoke to her Swedish counterpart, Stefan Lofven, who assured her that garment buyers would honor purchase agreements. (Nikkei collage/Akira Kodaka)
Trade

Bangladesh goes to bat for textile industry as buyers scrap orders

Trade group teams up with rights lobby for 'battle' with European partners

31 May 2020
Repatriated overseas Filipino workers arrive at an airport after weeks of quarantine in Pasay City on May 26: they send home more than $35 billion annually.
Opinion

Coronavirus shock exposes Asian governments' addiction to remittances

Money which overseas workers send home has prevented needed reforms

28 May 2020
Indians wait to board a repatriation flight from Kuwait International Airport in Kuwait City, on May 9: There are reports that more than 400,000 Indians worldwide are trying to return home. © AFP/Jiji
Coronavirus

Coronavirus wrecks South Asian migrant livelihoods in Middle East

Some 900,000 stranded workers to test health care systems and economies

20 May 2020
The superstorm Amphan is expected to passes through Kolkata with winds off up to 120 kph.
Natural disasters

Cyclone forces mass evacuation from India and Bangladesh coasts

First superstorm in 20 years adds to challenges amid COVID-19 pandemic

20 May 2020
(All images from Amazon.com)
Arts

Top 10 South Asian books to read during lockdown

From Indian mysteries to Nepalese histories, we have the perfect selection

13 May 2020
Despite stellar economic growth over the past decade, many Bangladeshis have no safety nets and economic survival outweighs COVID-19 concerns. 
Asia Insight

Coronavirus risks pushing millions of Bangladeshis back into poverty

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's leadership severely tested by food and income setbacks

12 May 2020