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USAID funding row, the Congress on Sunday accused the BJP of indulging in «anti-national work» by spreading «fake news from America» and asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will also have to answer as to why the government is silent when US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are «insulting» India repeatedly. The BJP has rejected all such allegations of the Congress and called Rahul Gandhi a «traitor», accusing him of colluding with foreign forces in his bid to weaken India.

(Bloomberg) — Charities, diplomats and foreign officials around the world are frantically trying to figure out what will happen to the US agency that doles out over $40 billion in aid for everything from life-saving HIV programs in Africa to funding for Ukraine amid the Trump administration’s assault on a cornerstone of the country’s global influence.

Nural Islam, Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India, to discuss the escalating border tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka.

Mani Shankar Aiyar on Saturday night said that deposed Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina should be allowed to stay in India as long as she wants. Expressing happiness that Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri went to Dhaka last month and held discussions with the authorities there, Aiyar told PTI on the sidelines of the 16th Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival that the talks should be continuous and New Delhi needs to establish ministerial contacts with the interim government of Bangladesh. About demands by Bangladesh to extradite Hasina, he said, «I hope we will never disagree that Sheikh Hasina has done a lot of good for us. I am glad she was given refuge. I think we should be her host as long as she wants, even if it is for all her life.» Hasina, 77, has been living in India since August 5 when she fled the country following a massive student-led protest that toppled her 16-year regime.

India-Pakistan relations, responding to remarks made by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. The controversy followed Dar’s use of the phrase “It takes two to tango” in reference to the normalisation of ties between the two countries. Jaiswal, speaking during a briefing on Friday, highlighted that the core issue was «terrorism,» not the metaphorical «tango» as used by Dar.

Bangladesh would pursue while strong bilateral ties with Washington, Delhi and Beijing are priorities of the interim government, Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain said on Wednesday. Hasina, 77, has been living in India since August 5 when she fled the country following a massive student-led protest that toppled her 16-year regime.

Bangladesh faced an upheaval this year with the ouster of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a development that also cast a shadow over its traditionally strong ties with India. The relations could be strained further: Bangladesh now seeks her extradition from India. The removal of 77-year-old Hasina followed weeks of protests led by students over a controversial quota system in government jobs that escalated into a nationwide campaign calling for the end of her 16-year regime.

violence against Hindus and other minorities have been reported in Bangladesh this year till December 8, and India's expectation is Dhaka will take necessary measures to ensure their safety, the government said on Friday. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh gave the information in a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha, citing data from minority and human rights organisations. In Pakistan, the number of cases of violence against Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan this year stood at «112 till October 2024,» the MoS said. The corresponding figures for 2022 were 47 in Bangladesh and 241 in Pakistan, while in 2023 the figures were 302 in Bangladesh and 103 in Pakistan, according to the data he shared.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Today Bangladesh is celebrating the 53rd anniversary of its liberation—a day I still remember vividly. I was then a student at the government inter-college, Prayagraj (then Allahabad).

BJP West Bengal unit staged a protest at Basirhat border in Ghojadanga creating blockade and protesting against torture on minorities in Bangladesh. Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari announced a mega rally in Kolkata on December 16, which is celebrated as Vijay Diwas by the Indian army. Meanwhile, ISKCON Kolkata urges UN Human Rights to ‘Wake up’ after another ISKCON monk was attacked at Dhaka’s Uttara area. After blocking goods vehicles from crossing the border at the Petrapole land port last week, BJP leader Adhikari reached the Ghojadanga land port in North 24 Parganas where various organisations conducted a similar blockade on Tuesday to protest the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmay Krishna Das Brahmachari in Bangladesh. Adhikari said, “Today is the World Human Rights’ Day. I urge the countries which believe in humanitarian ways like United States and United Kingdom to take action. The world community should come together and protect the Hindus in Bangladesh.”

Mamata Banerjee on Monday expressed hope that the Indian foreign secretary's Bangladesh visit would be successful. «We expect the Indian diplomacy talks to be successful and expect peace to return,» she said. Speaking in the assembly, Banerjee gave a stern message to Bangladeshi politicians, especially after Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders said at a public meeting in Dhaka that their country has legitimate claims over Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. «Those who are saying this do not have strength. We are conscientious citizens who are enduring the test of patience. When you capture us, do you think we will eat lollipops?» she said. She also urged people to remain calm and not get provoked by statements made in Bangladesh and slammed the Bangladeshi leaders for making provocative statements.

Vikram Misri on Monday delivered a categorical message to the interim regime in Dhaka that forward movement in partnership is conditional on Dhaka's constructive approach in safeguarding minority rights and security interests besides protection of cultural, diplomatic and religious properties. «We also had the opportunity to discuss certain recent developments and issues, and I conveyed our concerns, including those related to the safety and welfare of minorities. We also discussed some regrettable incidents of attacks on cultural, religious, and diplomatic properties. A constructive approach on all these issues by the Bangladesh authorities, and we look forward to moving the relationship forward in a positive, forward-looking and constructive direction,» Misri said in his press statement following his meetings in Dhaka, including with the chief adviser. High-level sources told ET that New Delhi is peeved with Dhaka's lackadaisical approach in safeguarding India's interests and the foreign secretary delivered message in unambiguous terms.

extreme heat as climate change pushes temperatures up, a report found on Sunday, a problem multinational retailers and brands will have to help address. New European Union regulations make retailers selling in the bloc, like Inditex, H&M and Nike, legally liable for conditions at their suppliers, putting pressure on them to help fund improvements to cool factories they source from. In Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh and Karachi, the number of days with «wet-bulb» temperatures — a measurement that accounts for air temperature as well as humidity — above 30.5 degrees Celsius jumped by 42% in 2020-2024 compared to 2005-2009, researchers at Cornell University's Global Labor Institute found.

Chinmoy Krishna Das on the court premises in Chittagong, according to a media report. The Dhaka Tribune newspaper said the case names the Hindu leader, arrested on a charge of sedition, as the prime accused, along with 164 identified individuals and 400 to 500 unidentified people. The complaint was filed by Enamul Haque, a businessman and activist of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, in the court of Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate Md Abu Bakar Siddique. Haque in his complaint alleged that he was attacked by followers of Chinmoy Krishna Das while returning home after completing land registry work at the court on November 26.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The pauses that Ayesha Sultana takes during a conversation are just as significant as the works she creates. These brief silences offer opportune moments for the viewer or listener to understand the workings of the artist’s mind, and to soak in the conceptual subtlety of the abstract works that she creates.

The panel led by economist Debapriya Bhattacharya submitted a white paper on the state of Bangladesh’s economy to Yunus in Dhaka on Sunday, according to a government statement. Sheikh Hasina was ousted by student protesters in August after 15 years of increasingly authoritarian rule. The army and protest leaders tapped Nobel laureate Yunus, who pioneered microcredit to the poor, to lead an interim government.

Munni Saha was reportedly heckled by a mob, a video of which has gone viral on the Internet. She was later arrested in Dhaka’s Kawran Bazar area on Wednesday night after the confrontation with the mob. Police intervened after the crowd accused Saha of spreading misinformation and “working to make Bangladesh a part of India.” Saha maintained her innocence, stating, “This is also my country.” A video circulating online shows the tense encounter. The mob accused Saha of involvement in the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles mutiny and student deaths. “You are doing everything to make this country a part of India. The blood of students is on your hands,” one person shouted. Saha responded, “How have I harmed? This is also my country.”