Politics

Protesters gather around the prime minister's residence in Bangladesh as demonstrations sweep Dhaka on Aug. 5.
Bangladesh turmoil

Bangladesh PM Hasina quits, flees country as protesters storm residence

Army chief says interim government planned and calls for end to deadly unrest

5 August 2024
Men run past a Dhaka shopping center set on fire by protesters during a rally against Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Aug. 4.
Bangladesh turmoil

Bangladesh PM Hasina faces calls to quit as political crisis boils

Critical test for leader's 15-year hold on power as nation plunges into fresh unrest

5 August 2024
Demonstrators occupy a Dhaka street on Aug. 4 during a protest demanding the resignation of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following quota reform protests by students.
Bangladesh turmoil

Bangladesh clashes kill at least 91, as protesters urge Hasina to resign

Attacks occur at police stations, ruling party offices and garment factories

5 August 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris could become the first female U.S. president.
U.S. elections 2024

Harris could become the 1st female U.S. leader; Asia's had several

Over 13 Asian countries and regions including Australia and Taiwan have had women heads

4 August 2024
Protesters engage in a clash in Dhaka on July 16. Bangladesh has been plunged into unrest after demonstrations against government job quotas. 
Bangladesh turmoil

Bangladesh protest movement launches foreign remittance freeze

Campaign calls on nearly 10 million expats to pressure government over violence

2 August 2024
Protesters clash with authorities outside the state-owned Bangladesh Television in Dhaka on July 19 as violence erupts nationwide after anti-quota protests by students.
International relations

EU delays talks with Bangladesh on pact after Dhaka's response to protests

Dhaka says negotiations on trade and economic deal moved to November after U.N. assembly

31 July 2024
Bangladeshi soldiers take a position at the Mohammadpur area during a national curfew in Dhaka on July 20.
Opinion

Bangladesh's quota quagmire shows need for urgent reforms

Hasina must create economic opportunities, give more space to opposition

26 July 2024
A Dhaka shopowner surveys burnt tyres outside his premises following a clash on July 23.
Society

Bangladesh protests cause thousands of Indians to flee

India anxious about spillover effect of unrest as evacuations get underway

25 July 2024
A man walks past damaged vehicles that were set afire by a mob after violence answered student protests against government job quotas, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 21.
Bangladesh turmoil

Bangladesh protesters demand government take responsibility for deaths

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on to apologize and fire the home minister

22 July 2024
On July 21, a man in Dhaka rides his rickshaw past damaged vehicles that were set on fire by a mob during clashes after violence erupted following protests by Bangladeshi students against government job quotas.
Bangladesh turmoil

Bangladesh top court scraps most job quotas that triggered deadly protests

Students pushed for lifting government quotas; communications spotty after crackdown

21 July 2024
A police officer fires tear gas during violent demonstrations outside state-owned Bangladesh Television in Dhaka on July 19.
Bangladesh turmoil

Bangladesh army imposes curfew as student-led protests spiral

Internet, text message services suspended; death toll rises to at least 114

20 July 2024
A police officer is beaten by mob during a clash between anti-quota supporters, police and ruling Awami League supporters at the Rampura area in Dhaka on July 18.
Bangladesh turmoil

Bangladesh TV news off air, communications widely disrupted

Websites of several Bangladesh-based newspapers not updated as student protests spike

19 July 2024
Anti-quota protesters carrying Bangladeshi flags engage in a clash with the student wing of the ruling Bangladesh Awami League at the University of Dhaka on July 16.
Bangladesh turmoil

Student protests in Bangladesh over job quotas escalate into violence

Prime Minister Hasina's use of derogatory term for activists further fuels anger

18 July 2024
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, speaks with Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her ceremonial reception at the Forecourt of India's Rashtrapati Bhavan Presidential Palace in New Delhi on June 22.
International relations

Bangladesh PM Hasina visits India twice ahead of China trip

Delhi talks yield no progress on river deal that Beijing also wants a part of

24 June 2024
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks to journalists on Jan. 8 after winning her fourth term in power. The elections were marred by violence and arrests of opposition leaders.
International relations

Renewed U.S. outreach to Bangladesh signals strategic shift in region

U.S. diplomat Lu prioritizes economic partnership to counter China's influence

28 May 2024
Depositors across Bangladesh are yanking savings out of the country's crisis-hit banks, despite official assurances that deposits are safe. (Nikkei montage / Source photos by Reuters and AFP/Jiji)
Finance

Bangladesh banks in liquidity crisis, hit by forced merger plan

Institutions saddled with bad loans and fraud claims, leading authorities to downsize sector

15 May 2024
"Not enough time, not enough support": Uzbekistan, a landlocked country slightly bigger than California, is facing the consequences of a history of poor irrigation, with rising salinity slashing the size of usable growing areas.
Asia Insight

Uzbek farmers battle to save cotton, wheat crops from mortal enemy: salt

Growing salinization crisis bites as cotton exports to Bangladesh skid 80% in 5 years

7 May 2024
A shopkeeper in Mirpur selling Indian saris waits for customers. (Photo by Faisal Mahmud)
Economy

Bangladeshi 'India out' campaign hits Ramadan sales

Retailers report demand drop; PM Hasina points to dependence on Indian staples

12 April 2024
Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's party chant slogans during a protest demanding free and fair elections in Karachi on March 2. 
Politics

Has Pakistan cricket hero Khan opened political Pandora's box?

Jailed ex-PM champions renewal, reforms that resonate with younger voters

6 April 2024
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus speaks to reporters after being granted bail in Dhaka on Jan. 28. Many critics believe Bangladesh's government is using the power of the law to discredit a man once seen as a potential political rival.
Politics

Bangladesh's Nobel winner Yunus fights for legacy as legal screws tighten

After office seized, 83-year-old widely seen as target of political vendetta

24 February 2024
Rohingya refugees walk along a road at the Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, in 2019. Dhaka says it cannot handle another influx as it already hosts over a million Rohingya people.
Myanmar Crisis

Bangladesh resists growing calls to accept more Rohingyas from Myanmar

Pressure builds as war rages next door, U.N. appeals on humanitarian grounds

21 February 2024
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina meets Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Feb. 17.
International relations

Hasina meets Zelenskyy as Bangladesh and the West mend fences

U.S. eases pressure on Dhaka for democracy, eyeing Russia and China

17 February 2024
Sheikh Hasina takes the oath of office for a fourth consecutive term as Bangladeshi prime minister in Dhaka on Jan 11. 
Comment

Bangladesh, a bastion of female empowerment, lags on democracy

PM Hasina's economic record marred by growing political suppression

13 February 2024
Bangladeshi border guards stand watch at Ghumdhum Point overlooking Myanmar in Cox’s Bazar in 2017. Munitions are falling in Bangladesh as Myanmar's civil war rages.
Myanmar Crisis

Bangladesh rebukes Myanmar over stray gunfire as border crisis brews

Dhaka fears refugee influx, demands Naypyitaw repatriate forces who crossed over

7 February 2024
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is welcomed by her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi in September 2022.
International relations

'India Out' campaign heats up in Bangladesh after lopsided election

Echoes of Maldives as government's frustrated opponents accuse New Delhi of meddling

26 January 2024