KOLKATA, India — Bangladesh’s 50th Independence Day celebrations turned bloody after clashes erupted between security personnel and protesters who were outraged by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit. Modi’s visit to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, was part of a two-day trip to celebrate the neighbor’s Independence Day. Leaders from Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal were also present. The trip commenced on March 26, the birthday of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh and father of prime minister Sheikh Hasina. At least 13 people died, and another 300 were injured in the clashes that continued over the weekend from…
Author: zenger.news
PUNE, India — Heatwaves — sweltering weather accompanied by high humidity during summer — are increasing in the Indian subcontinent. They have caused an unprecedented number of deaths across India in recent years. Now, a study published in Geophysical Research Letters by an online journal called Advancing Earth and Space Science has found that deadly heatwaves will be the norm in South Asia — home to nearly a quarter of the world’s population — by 2040 The study falls in line with the extreme increase in temperatures experienced in India. On March 27, Mumbai, a densely populated city on India’s west coast, recorded its third-highest March temperature.…
LAHORE, Pakistan — The cancellation of an event in Pakistan commemorating Bangladesh’s 50 years of independence has precipitated the debate around Pakistan’s acknowledgment of war crimes. Pakistan’s Lahore University of Management Sciences and National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, had organized the online event titled “War, Violence & Memory: Commemorating 50 Years of the 1971 War” from March 23 to 27. The organizers did not point out the reasons for the cancellation of the event. When approached, Ali Usman Qasmi, historian and professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, told Zenger News he would issue a statement. The statement is yet to…
VRINDAVAN, India — Basant Utsav, or the festival of spring, is celebrated with great pomp and show by Indians, especially the people belonging to what the locals refer to as the “land of Braj” or the land of Hindu deity Krishna. This sacred landscape finds its center at Mathura, the juncture of the three northern states of modern-day Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Haryana. Brijwasis, or the residents of the land of Braj, asked us to experience what they believe to be a one-of-a-kind insight into the ways of their land — the Lathmar Holi, which literally translates to a festival of sticks and…
HELIOPOLIS, Egypt — The Suez Canal Authority said that they plan on seeking $1 billion in compensation after the Ever Given ran aground and stopped all operations for nearly a week. The news was announced by the chief executive officer of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, in a conversation with local media on March 31. “We plan to ask for $1 billion in compensation after the 400-meter cargo ship Ever Given, owned by Japanese company Shoei Kisen Kaisha, ran aground on March 23,” he said. “The compensation sum includes the costs of the salvage operation, transit fees that were lost, and the…
SYDNEY, Australia — A Sydney man was sentenced to 16 months in jail for using cryptocurrency and a series of stolen identities to launder money. The 46-year-old set up cryptocurrency accounts in seven different names using stolen identity details and deposited Bitcoin into each. He used an ATM service of cryptocurrency provider BitRocket, which allows customers to withdraw Australian dollars from their Bitcoin accounts, and withdrew AUD 43,350 across numerous transactions. The man was arrested in June 2020 while withdrawing money at one of the ATMs, after the cryptocurrency company tipped off police for suspicious transactions. Police established that the…
CANBERRA, Australia — The Australian Labor Party has welcomed the support of new defense minister Peter Dutton for a standing royal commission to address veteran suicides but said the proposal lacks detail. The Morrison government has spent years arguing against launching an inquiry into the deeply troubling issue but has yielded to pressure from veteran advocates and outspoken members of its own backbench. Dutton said as things stand, there was no need to lobby Prime Minister Scott Morrison to back the commission, which parliament unanimously endorsed last month. However, he wants it set up alongside a permanent office for the prevention…
CANBERRA, Australia — Unions in Australia have urged the new attorney-general to back tougher anti-sexual harassment provisions in changes to workplace laws. Michaelia Cash, an industrial relations minister, is set to meet with state and territory workplace health and safety ministers on April 15. The Australian Council of Trade Unions is lobbying the minister to support national industrial manslaughter laws, which would punish bosses and companies for deaths at work. In a letter to Senator Cash and Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Trade Union’s secretary Michele O’Neil alluded to the sexual assault allegations engulfing federal politics. “Nearly two in five women have experienced sexual…
CANBERRA, Australia — Australian voters will have a clear sense of how the major parties are positioned on key economic, social, and security issues before mid-year. The Labor Party’s stage-managed national conference — held online for the first time due to Covid-19 — settled on a scaled-down platform this week. Blink and one would have missed the Nationals’ convention last weekend. The Morrison government will deliver a May 11 budget, followed by a Liberal federal convention a few weeks later. That will set the scene for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to weigh up the timing of a half-Senate and full…
CANBERRA, Australia — Finding a job can be challenging, but people with autism can face a more difficult task thanks to people’s misperceptions about them. Jessica Finn was non-verbal for the first few years of her life and said people had a habit of underestimating her. “It can be hard to get your foot in the door for employment,” the 22-year-old Queenslander said. She hopes April, which is Autism Awareness month, will bring greater understanding and acceptance. “I don’t think anyone would like it if you were to pick on someone for the way they are and made them feel that…