Bangladesh Financial News

Bangladesh’s top court on Sunday scaled back a controversial quota system for government job applicants after it led to nationwide unrest and deadly clashes between police and protesters that have killed scores of people. The Supreme Court in its verdict ordered 93% of the government jobs to be allocated on a merit-based system, leaving the remaining 7% for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971 and other categories. Earlier, the system reserved 30% of such jobs the relatives of war veterans. Sunday's verdict comes after weeks of demonstrations — mostly led by students — that turned deadly on Tuesday after protesters began clashing with police. During the week, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and hurled smoke grenades to scatter stone-throwing protesters who filled the streets and university campuses. Sporadic clashes in some parts of Dhaka, the capital, were reported on Saturday but it was not immediately clear whether there were any fatalities.

violence-hit Bangladesh through integrated check posts in Tripura, a Border Security Force official said here on Sunday. Of the total returnees, 365 crossed over the international border on Saturday and four on Friday, he said. The returnees include three Nepalese students. «A total of 379 students entered India in the past 48 hours from violence-hit Bangladesh through check posts at Srimantapur in Sepahijala and Agartala (Akhaura) in West Tripura, and more are expected to return on Sunday,» the BSF official said.

The nationwide demonstrations — called for mainly by student groups — began weeks ago to protest a quota system that reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971. Violence erupted Tuesday, with the Daily Prothom Alo newspaper on Saturday reporting the death of at least 103 people so far. Bangladeshi authorities haven't shared any official numbers of those killed and injured.

Jamaat-e-Islami backed by Pakistan's ISI, is under the scanner for instigating violence and transforming student protests into a political movement in Bangladesh that has impacted the routine of millions including Indian students there, nearly 1,000 of whom have returned so far. The motive of Pakistan's army and ISI is to destabilise the Shiekh Hasina government and bring the opposition BNP back in power through protests and street violence, highly placed sources told ET. The Hasina government is monitoring the activities of opposition leaders, they said. The role of the ISI to undermine the Hasina government which has cracked down against radicals is nothing new, but now, what started as a student protest against quotas in jobs has been transformed into a political movement through infiltration of cadres of opposition parties into the protesting groups, people tracking the developments said.

DHAKA: Soldiers were patrolling Bangladeshi cities on Saturday to quell growing civil unrest sparked by student demonstrations, with riot police firing on protesters who defied a government curfew. This week's violence has killed at least 123 people so far, according to a count of victims reported by police and hospitals, and poses a monumental challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's autocratic government after 15 years in office. A government curfew went into effect at midnight and the premier's office asked the military to deploy troops after police again failed to subdue widespread mayhem.

protests by thousands of students in Bangladesh against quotas in government jobs has brought focus to a history of violence in a country born out of a war between India and Pakistan in 1971 in which nearly 3 million people were killed. Its founding father and first prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was assassinated in 1975 in a military coup which brought in a long period of military rule. Though democracy was restored slowly by 1990, the country of nearly 170 million people has been rocked by sporadic periods of sectarian or political violence in recent years.

Indian students back home on Friday from Bangladesh, where violence has erupted between protesters and security forces. At least 20 people have been killed in the clashes this week — most of them in the capital Dhaka — with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets to scatter protesters who also torched vehicles and establishments. The protesters oppose a system of quotas for government jobs. Some mobile internet services were cut off on Thursday and telecom links remained widely disrupted on Friday.

Arunachal Pradesh which poses a threat of a flood-like situation in the state, senior BJP MLA Ninong Ering on Friday urged the government to take up the issue with the Centre. China is building a 60,000 megawatt dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Medog, near the international border. Tsangpo is known as Siang in Arunachal Pradesh and Brahmaputra in Assam. The main channel of this river is the Jamuna, which flows through Bangladesh before joining the Bay of Bengal. Participating in the motion of thanks to the governor's address in the assembly, Ering, a former Union minister said, «We cannot trust our 'neighbour'. You never know what they can do. They can either divert the entire river flow drying up our Siang or release water at once causing unprecedented floods havoc downstream.»

Bangladesh on Thursday, while authorities cut some mobile internet services as violent clashes that have killed six and injured hundreds this week showed no signs of slowing. Shops and offices were open in Dhaka, the capital, but there were fewer buses on the streets, as a call for a nationwide shutdown from students demanding abolition of a quota of 30% reservations drew little response. Police fired tear gas to disperse stone-throwing students who blocked a major highway in the southern port city of Chittagong as mobile services were halted across most of the South Asian country.

Indian embassy on Thursday issued an advisory for its citizens in Bangladesh after the students' protest intensified over the government jobs quota. Student protesters in Bangladesh have been demanding an end to quotas for government jobs and have called for a nationwide shutdown following deadly clashes this week that resulted in six deaths and hundreds of injuries. Angered by high youth unemployment, with nearly 32 million out of work or education among a population of 170 million, the students have pressed for the abolition of a quota of 30% reservations for the families of freedom fighters.

Small-scale fisher organisations from India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Ecuador, and Gambia have asked fisheries subsidies negotiations to be kept out of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and said that the ongoing negotiations on curbing overcapacity and overfishing (OCOF) subsidies are “unfair and unbalanced”. They said that the exemptions for small-scale fishers across developing countries is being restricted by imposing irrational conditionalities. The World Forum of Fisher Peoples and World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers have raised concerns at the negotiations which seek disciplines on subsidies such as those for construction, acquisition and modernisation of vessels.

Kyrgyzstan has emerged with the deportation of illegal Pakistani citizens. Central Asia including Kyrgyzstan is not a usual destination for migrants. But the Kyrgyz national security council has recently detected the presence of several illegal migrants in the country and citizens from Pakistan and Bangladesh form the bulk of these illegal migrants. In April-May this year in the run up to the political crisis that also contributed to the aborted coup, the Kyrgyz security services deported 1500 Pakistani and 1000 Bangladeshi citizens staying illegally in the country, ET has learnt. Around 5,000 illegal migrants were detected in the country, alleged sources familiar with the developments.

Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) criticized Assam government’s instruction to police regarding the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 in the state where the police are advised not to forward cases of eligible individuals, who entered India before 2014, the cut-off date under CAA, directly to the Foreigners Tribunals, All Assam Students Union (AASU) staged protest in different areas protesting the notification. AASU burnt the copies of the notification in different districts on Tuesday. On July 5, the Home and Political Department of the Assam government wrote to the Special Director General of Police (Border) of the Assam police, stating that people eligible to apply for citizenship under the provisions of the CAA is not referred to Foreigners Tribunals and that a special registry of such people be maintained.

Mint. Bangladesh—that has a market reminiscent of India from 15 years ago when the TV-viewing landscape was predominantly analogue—presents a significant opportunity for both the companies. “As we make our foray into Bangladesh, we find potential partners eager for our platform.

Sivaramakrishnan Ganapathi, MD, Gokaldas Exports, says this year on the low base of last year, there is a growth. Also, the retail-led demand continues to pull up the sector and there is also a move from Western companies to source more from India and that is getting more pronounced when the demand is coming back, so that also is helping us to see more traction. So, overall, in Asia, India, and Bangladesh would see some more growth As per reports doing the rounds, the centre seems to be planning to bring in some of the textile products like t-shirts, innerwear, etc, under the PLI scheme for textiles. Tell me, if this inclusion were to come in, how does it help you? Sivaramakrishnan Ganapathi: It will create fresh investments in the sector, so that is good news. And I see that there should be a demand-pull going forward for the next three to five years. So, after an inventory-led low demand last year, we are seeing traction coming back and coupled that with a PLI that encourages additional investment, and if the investment thresholds are kept low, many more new investors will come in, which will be good for the industry. More capacity gets created in India, more can be served out of India, and it will increase exports.

China and Bangladesh are reaffirming their ties during a visit by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Beijing as tensions rise in the region over territorial disputes and resources

Global Gender Gap Index by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Pakistan finds itself near the bottom of the list, with only Sudan ranked lower among 146 nations surveyed. This marks a further decline from its 142nd position last year, reflecting a worsening situation for women in the country, Dawn reported. Women's rights activists have issued impassioned pleas for both state and societal commitment to address gender disparities effectively. They emphasise the need to redefine the roles prescribed to women by Pakistsociety and the government. The annual index evaluates gender parity across four critical dimensions: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Leading nations in gender parity include Iceland, Finland, Norway, New Zealand, and Sweden, as reported by Dawn.

Pakistan cricket team has come under fire for their unconventional training methods following a disappointing performance at the T20 World Cup. Despite their efforts to innovate in practice, including drills on mattresses, critics and fans remain skeptical about their effectiveness. Viral Video Sparks Controversy A viral video showing Pakistan players performing fielding drills on old mattresses has sparked both amusement and criticism on social media. This unusual training approach has raised questions about the team's professionalism and preparation methods in the wake of their early exit from the T20 World Cup.

PTI quoted an ICC board member as saying.Pakistan will host the ICC event from 19 February to 9 March, while 10 March has been kept as a reserve day for the final ICC event.With details pouring in, India has been placed in Group A with Pakistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand, while Australia, South Africa, England, and Afghanistan are in Group B.Earlier, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi – invited to watch the T20 World Cup final in Barbados – had submitted a 15-match schedule with all of India's games kept in Lahore for security and logistical reasons, added the PTI report."The PCB has submitted the draft of the 15-match ICC Champions Trophy. Seven games in Lahore, three in Karachi and five in Rawalpindi," PTI's ICC source said."The opening match will be held in Karachi with two semifinals in Karachi and Rawalpindi, final in Lahore.

India vs Zimbabwe Live Score Updates: A young side, India, will take on Zimbabwe in the first match of the Sports 5 T20I series at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday. Notably, this will be the first time the Men in Blue have played in Zimbabwe since 2016.The Zimbabwe series has taken on new significance following the T20 World Cup victory and the subsequent retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja from T20 cricket. With fresh blood in the side, the Men in Blue will be looking to continue their winning ways.Zimbabwe, on the other hand, come into this series having lost their last series against Bangladesh 4-1 in May.

Tata Play has ramped up its overseas play for white label solution it offers to global OTT aggregators following the latest collaboration with Akash Digital TV in Bangladesh. Under the collaboartion, Akash Digital TV will get to use Tata Play Binge's Cloud technology that seeks to simplify accessing content by bringing together shows and movies from various OTT channels onto one screen, through a single app and subscription. This unified interface helps OTT aggregators worldwide to focus on forming content partnerships and gaining subscribers. Harit Nagpal, managing director and CEO of Tata Play, said the collaboration with Akash Digital TV is a pivotal moment in their journey where international content delivery companies would benefit from Tata Play's tried technology to create localised offerings for consumers at a low cost and within a short time frame.