UNHCR is providing assistance to local farmers in one of Bangladesh’s poorest districts, which is home to 900,000 Rohingya refugees, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cox’s Bazar was already an underdeveloped district in Bangladesh prior to the Rohingya refugee influx in 2017. The arrival of over 740,000 refugees has had a major effect on the lives of local residents. When the Rohingya refugees arrived with nothing, the local community was the first to help them, but the refugees’ continued presence has harmed the livelihoods of many Bangladeshis.The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe economic distress and food security concerns for the already poor local population, placing many people at risk of starvation.
New programmes, such as vegetable collection centres, have recently been launched to assist local residents in selling their produce at a reasonable price. Vegetable collection centres are also near producers, lowering transportation costs. This has improved their income potential, attracting more people to work in agriculture.
UNHCR
In March 2015, the Thanh Nien newspaper reported that from October 2011 to September 2014, there were 226 deaths in detention facilities nationwide. The Ministry of Public Security explained them as being due to illness and suicide. Since then, no further reports have been issued.
Israel has proposed a cease-fire plan for Gaza, which Hamas says it is reviewing. This follows after an Egyptian delegation visited Israel, during which officials described a “new vision” for a prolonged end of hostilities.
The need for sustainable solutions becomes more pressing as climate change wreaks havoc around the world. In Nigeria, a private company recently introduced an Uber-style taxi system made of approximately 200 electric vehicles.
A Myanmar junta airstrike on a hospital in the west of the country has killed four people, including patients and staff, and wounded 15, a rebel group told Radio Free Asia on Friday.
As part of measures to tackle the militant attacks, mass kidnappings, and banditry activities that have plagued the nation, Nigeria is considering establishing state police throughout all 36 of its states. The violence has overwhelmed the country’s police force, which numbers over 300,000 members.The state police are an addition to this force. Nigerians cautiously welcome the move.
Nearly two decades after the Tak Bai Incident where over 80 people died in Thailand’s insurgency-stricken southern border region, the victims’ families filed a lawsuit on Thursday against government officials allegedly involved in the deaths.
Pro-Palestinian protests take place on college campuses across the country every day. Students are protesting against the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and demanding that humanitarian aid be allowed to flow into the territory.It seems that the protests are not dying down while several students and demonstrators have been suspended or detained.
Environmental groups have slammed a Hong Kong government plan for a high-tech urban development despite warnings it will destroy a crucial wetland habitat for migratory birds, including the endangered black-faced spoonbill.