Bangladesh

Today's news: eight Taiwanese soldiers jailed for pro-China espionage; Hundreds of migrants from Asia stranded at São Paulo airport in Brazil; At least 15 dead and 4.5 million affected by floods in Bangladesh; It is less dangerous for airlines to fly over Afghanistan than the Middle East, security and screening concerns remain; Delegation from Laos to Moscow for International Buddhist Forum visits Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

To date there are 2.59 million people without employment in the country, with a particular incidence in the younger segments of the population. The figure of those who expatriate to complete their studies or better professional opportunities continues to grow. The local church's commitment to education, starting with technical institutes.

So far, the efforts by governments and international organisations to contain the danger have failed. Dengue fever has no cure and the only prevention is via elimination of the Aedes mosquito. The most dramatic situation is in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Card Patrick D'Rozario appeals “for peace, calm and no revenge”. For the first time, student leaders join a caretaker government. There is uncertainty over the role the military will play in the period leading up to the election, expected over the next three months. Activists and analysts stress the importance of maintaining stability.

Today's headlines: North Korea punishes students and officials for watching a film about the Korean War. Telephone and Internet restrictions leave large parts of Myanmar without information from abroad. In Bangladesh, garment factories reopen after forced closure due protests. War in Gaza hinders polio vaccination amid WHO warning of a possible epidemic.

Today's headlines: The Philippines, the US, Canada, and Australia hold a two-day exercise in the South China Sea. Taiwan’s defence spending is expected to reach a record high next year. Hamas appoints Yahya Sinwar as its new leader. In South Korea, climate change is disrupting agriculture with new banana and papaya farms popping up.

After a provisional government was announced, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party has re-emerged on the political scene. Its leader, Khaleda Zia, is free and her son seems poised to run. Hindus and Christians have been attacked, but this was not part of the protests. University students risk being marginalised if they do not become politically organised.

This morning Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left the country aboard a military helicopter after protests broke out again. Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman addressed the nation announcing that he had held talks with several political parties.

Today's headlines: Israel is on maximum alert for an expected attack from Iran and its allies in response to Haniyeh’s killing. China hits an historic low in the number of marriages in the first six months of 2024. At the Torkham border crossing, Pakistan denies entry to Afghan drivers without passport or visa. Thailand draws up a ten-year plan in response to healthcare crisis.

After student protest and the harsh repression that cost more than 200 lives, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina bans Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing as terrorist organisations, blaming them for the violence. The party was created by Bangladeshis who fought for Pakistan in the 1971 War of Independence. The true unity for the good of the country remains a challenge.

This is a partial figure calculated only on the deaths so far confirmed while investigations continue to establish a definitive count. The unrest in recent weeks has also spread to the outlying areas of the capital. Yesterday Christians gathered in prayer for the victims.

The bishop of Rajshahi, president of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh, spoke to AsiaNews, calling for an end to the curfew that shut down the country, harming the poor above all. Those killed deserve justice, but order must be maintained. While Dhaka has been trying to get back to normal this morning, the death toll has risen to at least 197. Students say that some of their leaders are missing following the wave of arrests. The government blames the opposition and foreign "accomplices".