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Bangladesh

Bangladesh garment protests spread

DHAKA (AFP) – Bangladeshi police fired rubber bullets Saturday in a bid to subdue garment workers who rioted for a second day in protest against low pay as unrest spread to areas outside Dhaka, police said.
Workers fought pitched street battles with riot police in the manufacturing hub of Ashulia, north of [...]

Read More » No commentAugust 4, 2010

Bangladesh urges garment workers to accept wage hike

DHAKA (AFP) – Bangladesh’s Labour Minister urged millions of garment workers on Thursday to accept a new 80-percent wage hike, which looks set to end months of violent protests over pay and conditions.
The government said Tuesday it would raise the minimum wage from 1,662 taka, the lowest industry salary worldwide, to 3,000 [...]

Read More » No commentJuly 30, 2010

England bounce back to beat Bangladesh and win series

BIRMINGHAM (AFP) – Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott made hundreds as England bounced back from last weekend’s shock defeat to beat Bangladesh by 144 runs at Edgbaston here on Monday and so take the three-match one-day international series 2-1.
England captain Strauss made an ODI best of 154 and Trott 110, his first hundred at [...]

Read More » No commentJuly 13, 2010

New protests in Bangladesh garment factories

DHAKA (AFP) – Protesting workers forced a dozen Bangladeshi garment factories near the capital Dhaka to shut on Monday in a repeat of major industrial unrest that hit the sector last month.
A police official said about 2,000 employees demonstrated over low pay in the Ashulia industrial area, where hundreds of factories [...]

Read More » No commentJuly 5, 2010

Over 200 arrested in Bangladesh opposition strike

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Security forces arrested more than 200 activists Sunday, according to police and news reports, as Bangladesh’s main opposition party led a nationwide dawn-to-dusk general strike to protest alleged government misrule.
General strikes have been a common opposition tactic in Bangladesh, a fragile parliamentary democracy since nine years of military [...]

Read More » No commentJune 28, 2010

Bangladesh hit by first strike since elections

DHAKA (AFP) – Security forces in Bangladesh arrested more than 200 people Sunday as the first nationwide general strike since elections in 2008 was marred by violence, police said.
In the capital Dhaka, security forces fired tear gas and used batons to disperse hundreds of opposition activists as they tried to hold [...]

Read More » No commentJune 27, 2010

Dilshan shines as Sri Lanka crush Bangladesh

DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka (AFP) – Tillakaratne Dilshan starred with bat and ball as Sri Lanka trounced Bangladesh by 126 runs on Friday to virtually book their place in the Asia Cup final.
Dilshan smashed 71 off 51 balls and claimed three wickets as the defending champions piled up a commanding 312-4 in [...]

Read More » No commentJune 22, 2010

‘53 dead’ in Bangladesh floods, landslides

COX’S BAZAAR, Bangladesh (AFP) – At least 53 people have been killed after days of heavy rain triggered flash floods and landslides in southeastern Bangladesh, police said Tuesday.
The country’s flood warning centre said most of the southeast had experienced heavy rainfall during the past 24 hours, with 24.2 centimetres (9.5 inches) [...]

Read More » No commentJune 15, 2010

Bangladesh fire races through buildings, kills 117

DHAKA, Bangladesh – An electrical explosion plunged a neighborhood of Bangladesh’s capital in darkness and ignited a shop of flammable chemicals, creating a massive inferno that killed at least 117 — including 15 members of a wedding party — and injured more than 100 others.
The country’s worst fire in recent memory [...]

Read More » No commentJune 5, 2010

Bangladesh blaze death toll climbs to 108

DHAKA (AFP) – Rescuers called off the search for survivors Friday as the death toll from one of Bangladesh’s worst fires rose to 108 after flames ripped through a packed neighbourhood of Dhaka, officials said.
The blaze raged for three hours, destroying a row of multi-storey apartment buildings and trapping [...]

Read More » No commentJune 4, 2010