Julian Assange has insisted the UK and Sweden must respect the United Nations ruling that he has been unlawfully detained, formally announced on Friday.”We have now a victory, and decided law on this case,” he said via video link at…
Author: Lutfun Nahar
FGM Case Reported Every 109 Minutes in England
A case of female genital mutilation (FGM) was reported every 109 minutes in England between April and September last year, yet there has not been a single prosecution, according to government figures.The charity Plan UK, which analyzed the most recent…
Norway/Russia: Don’t Jeopardize Asylum Seekers
Norway should stop using fast-track procedures to return asylum seekers to Russia based on the presumption that it is a safe country of asylum for them, Human Rights Watch said today. Russian and Norwegian authorities plan to meet on February…
Indian Supreme Court to reassess “Sodomy” Law
India’s Supreme Court agreed on February 2, 2016, to hear an appeal of its 2013 decision that upheld a discriminatory law criminalizing same-sex relations, Human Rights Watch said today. The Indian government should file an affidavit with the court to…
Central African Republic: Rape by Peacekeepers
United Nations peacekeepers in the Central African Republic raped or sexually exploited at least eight women and girls between October and December 2015. Among the survivors are a 14-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman who said peacekeepers gang-raped them near…
Tunisia: Widespread abuses under drug law
,(Tunis) – A draft law to reduce penalties for drug use would stop short of fixing major human rights concerns in the current law. Tunisian authorities should revise the law to eliminate all prison sentences for recreational drug use or…
Case against Khaleda in final stages
The trial process of a graft case against the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson, Khaleda Zia, is almost at its final stages.Khaleda’s counsels have completed quizzing the investigation officer of the Zia Charitable Trust graft case on Thursday.Now the counsels…
Brain imaging to identify depression
According to the World Health Organization an estimated 350 million people of all ages suffer from depression. It’s a serious mental disorder that affects every aspect of a person’s life and in severe cases could lead to suicide. The study…
Young Tigers reach U-19 Cricket WC semifinals beating Nepal
Captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz and wicketkeeper Zakir Hasan made 117 in the fifth-wicket as Bangladesh defeated a spirited Nepal side by six wickets in the quarterfinal of ICC U19 World Cup on Friday.It was a bumpy road for the hosts…
Bangladesh Bank lifts SME lending target by 8.52pc
– Bangladesh Bank (BB) has set the SME (small and medium enterprises) loan disbursement target at Taka 1 lakh 13 thousand 503 crore and 43 lakh for 2016, which is higher by 8.52 percent from the target of 2015.Last year…
US drone strike kills top Qaeda chief in south Yemen: family
An air strike believed to have been carried out by a US drone in south yemen on Thursday killed a prominent chief of Al-Qaeda’s branch in the war-torn country, a family member said.Jalal Belaidi, alias Abu Hamza, a top commander…
Tiny Luxembourg looks to make a big splash in Asteroid mining
Luxembourg, the teeny little European nation, intends to become a hub for a new budding industry: asteroid mining.”Our aim is to open access to a wealth of previously unexplored mineral resources on lifeless rocks hurling through space, without damaging natural…
A UN Panel Has Just ‘Ruled in Favor’ of Julian Assange
A United Nations panel which was considering a case by Julian Assange that he had been unlawfully detained by the UK and Sweden has ruled in his favour, the BBC has reported.The founder of Wikileaks — who has been living…
Access to Clean Water and Job
Watersprint, the Sweden-based environmental technology company, has joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to provide 50,000 people in Bangladesh with access to safe and clean drinking water by 2020. To support this effort, the company will…
Hijab-wearing athlete on track to make U.S. Olympic history
She hasn’t earned an Olympic medal just yet, but fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad is already making history.The 30-year-old Maplewood, New Jersey, native will be the first U.S. athlete to compete in the Olympic Games in a hijab, a headscarf worn by…
Julian Assange ‘will surrender’ if UN rules against him
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has said he will turn himself over to UK police on Friday if a UN panel rules he has not been unlawfully detained.He took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in west London in June 2012 to…
Syria conflict: Sides trade blame over talks’ suspension
Syria’s government and the opposition have blamed each other for the suspension of peace talks in Geneva.UN envoy Staffan de Mistura called a temporary pause, saying the talks would resume on 25 February.But the opposition HNC said they would not…
No TICFA until GSP:Tofail
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has told Parliament that the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (Ticfa) with the United States would not be effective until restoration of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for Bangladesh.”The Ticfa will not be effective…
Qatar to recruit 3 lakh BD labour
Qatar has shown interest to recruit about three lakh overseas jobseekers from Bangladesh over the next two years.Qatar Administrative Development and Labour and Social Affairs Minister Issa Saad Al-Jafali Al-Nuaimi said this at a bilateral meeting with the visiting Bangladesh…
Political division everywhere: Fakhrul
BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday bemoaned that a suffocating situation has been created in the country as political division has spared to all spheres of society.“A dangerous political culture has now developed in the country.…
Sonali, Basic bank require time to regain position: Muhith
Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday said it will take time for state-owned Sonali Bank and Basic Bank to regain their previous positions in the banking sector as they have experienced several unpleasant incidents.“There’re some problems in these government-owned banks.…
‘Sexually Transmitted’ Case of Zika found in Texas
The first known case of Zika virus transmission within the United States has been reported in Texas, and was likely contracted through sex rather than a mosquito bite.The announcement was made on Tuesday by local health officials in Dallas, one…
Japan Ready to Shoot Down North Korean Missile
Japan put its military on alert on Wednesday to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatens its territory, while South Korea warned the North it would pay a “severe price” if it goes ahead with a satellite launch that…
Israeli police kills three Palestinian at East Jerusalem
Three Palestinian men have been shot and killed by Israeli police after a shooting incident, which left a female police officer dead and another injured in occupied East Jerusalem.Police said the Palestinians were armed with guns, knives and explosives, and…
Italian actor in coma after hanging scene misfires
An Italian actor is in a coma after he was choked when the hanging scene he was performing went wrong, according to Italian police.Raphael Schumacher, 27, was performing in an experimental production when a member of the audience noticed that…
Beard bacteria could be new antibiotics
The looming crisis of antibiotic resistance means diseases that were once easily treatable are becoming deadly again. The over-prescription of antibiotics for conditions that don’t require them is spurring resistant mutations leading to so-called superbugs – multi-drug-resistant infections that can…
Priyanka added to list of Oscars’ presenters
Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has been named one of the 13 presenters at the 88th Academy Awards on February 28, the event’s official website said.Priyanka, who has garnered praise for her role in American TV series “Quantico”, is one amongst…
Americans to control sugar intake
Americans say they are on a sugar detox.A Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,883 adults living in the United States, conducted on 15-21 January, finds that 58 percent say they tried to limit sugar in their diets in the previous 30 days.…
Two injured in Somalian explosion
At least two people were reported injured in an explosion aboard Daallo Airlines Airbus A321 flight in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.There were conflicting reports about whether flight D3159 made an emergency landing or failed to take off from the…
Jordan King wants Int’l support to help refugees
The king of Jordan has warned the international community that it must give his country long-term aid to help cope with the huge influx of Syrian refugees, or the “dam is going to burst”.In an interview with the BBC aired…