BANGLADESH
Yesterday, thousands of textile workers in Bangladesh blocked the Dhaka-Tangail motorway north of the capital and clashed with the police, demanding a pay rise.
The protests went ahead despite the government’s announcement last Sunday that it intended to set up a wage commission to review the minimum wage in the garment sector, which employs millions of people. Textile workers currently earn 13,000 taka a month and, during the demonstrations, called for a minimum wage of 30,000 taka, equivalent to $241 a month.
RUSSIA – INDONESIA
Indonesian authorities have uncovered a human trafficking network that is alleged to have recruited 58 citizens to force them to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine. Thirteen people have been named as suspects, including two Russians and one Ukrainian citizen, the Indonesian Police Investigation Department reported yesterday, 2 November. The victims were offered jobs in logistics, border security and the construction of defence infrastructure, but after completing the recruitment process and being sent to Russia, they were coerced into signing contracts to serve as mercenaries.
MYANMAR
A newborn baby is among at least 15 people killed in air strikes by the Burmese military junta in various locations across the western state of Rakhine over the weekend, according to reports from sources on the ground. The bombings struck a bridge in Kyauktaw, several villages in Kyaukpyu and Pauktaw, a makeshift clinic and a maternity ward in Mrauk-U, an area controlled by the opposition. The previous day, an air raid on Loikaw, in the eastern part of Kayah State, near the border with Thailand, had struck a school whilst lessons were in progress, killing three pupils and injuring five.
NEPAL
Two helicopters collided in the Mount Everest region, killing a 47-year-old Indian national and injuring two other people. Both helicopters were attempting to land near base camp, close to the village of Pheriche, at an altitude of 4,200 metres.
JAPAN
The Catholic Archdiocese of Nagasaki and other organisations intend to bring to the United States, for the first time in 16 years, the surviving head of a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary destroyed during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. The fragment of the statue will be taken to New York later this month for a conference on the review of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and then to Los Alamos, in the state of New Mexico, where nuclear weapons were developed. The group accompanying the statue will include Mitsuaki Takami, Archbishop Emeritus of Nagasaki, whose mother was exposed to the atomic bomb whilst she was pregnant with him.
YEMEN
The Houthis have advanced to within 80 km of Aden, the main stronghold and temporary capital of the Yemeni government. The Houthis’ advance threatens strategic positions along the main road linking Aden with the besieged city of Taiz, a vital artery for south-western Yemen. The advance offers the Houthis the chance to bypass government forces along the mountain range overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, military sources told Reuters. Government troops had driven Houthi fighters out of the area just a few weeks ago.
UZBEKISTAN
The President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has stated the need to increase annual remittances from abroad to reach $50 billion. Currently, citizens send over $20 billion back home, but government agencies play virtually no role in organising this process. Mirziyoyev emphasised that the increase in income for citizens working abroad should not only improve the financial situation of their families but also help the country attract specialists with international experience.
