Bangladesh’s cabinet has approved a proposal to dilute the Digital Security Act, a minister said Monday about the law that critics worldwide have lambasted for its use to silence dissent, imprison critics and repress a free media.
Bangladesh’s Election Commission met with representatives of Facebook’s parent company Thursday to seek the social media giant’s support in removing political posts deemed as disinformation during the run-up to national polls, officials said.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry warned Western countries on Wednesday to not engage in “undiplomatic behavior” through public criticism ahead of national polls, after officials met with ambassadors from 13 countries who had collectively condemned an assault on an independent candidate.
One person died and about 200 others were injured in clashes between activists from Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League and the BNP as the main opposition party staged anti-government protests in Dhaka and other cities on Tuesday, police and officials said.
Bangladesh has seen a spike in dengue cases and deaths in less than a month, according to government health figures released on Monday that did not include infections in Rohingya refugee camps, where cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been climbing as well.
Bangladesh’s apparel industry has made progress in transitioning to greener production by cutting electricity and water usage as well as reducing carbon emissions in churning out clothes for foreign markets, manufacturers and authorities said.
Bangladesh’s anti-corruption agency on Monday charged 146 people, including a top bank official said to be close to the ruling party, for the alleged embezzlement of U.S. $209 million from BASIC Bank.
Dozens of people were reported injured in violence between supporters of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the ruling Awami League as the BNP staged protests in several cities against electricity cuts amid a nationwide heat wave.
Police fired tear gas and arrested members of Bangladesh’s main opposition party who took to Dhaka’s streets to protest as their leader, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, went on trial Tuesday on new charges of alleged corruption.
In the decade since the Rana Plaza disaster, local and international labor advocates acknowledge that safety in Bangladesh’s garment factories has improved.