United News of Bangladesh

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has called for global action against racial injustice and highlighted the plight of the Rohingya people, who remain victims of racial discrimination and prolonged statelessness. Since 2017, Bangladesh has sheltered over a million forcibly displaced Rohingyas, but their repatriation to Myanmar remains the only sustainable solution to this protracted crisis, he said in a message on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. UNHCR deplores funding cuts in humanitarian sector putting millions at risk The global community must engage actively to ensure their early repatriation to their homeland in Myanmar, Dr Yunus said. On this occasion, Bangladesh reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance in all its forms. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). Dhaka calls for stronger global cooperation, investment to advance gender equality "As a state party to ICERD, Bangladesh upholds non-discrimination as a core principle of governance and society," said the Chief Adviser.

Chittagong Port has received 22,000 metric tonnes of Atap rice from Myanmar, transported by the MV Golden Star vessel. The rice consignment, imported on a government-to-government (G2G) basis, marks the first shipment of its kind under the current interim government, said the Ministry of Food in a media release issued on Friday (Jan 17). Bangladesh to import 100,000mt of rice from India and Pakistan It said samples from the shipment will undergo physical testing before unloading begins and all necessary arrangements have already been made to ensure a smooth process. This shipment follows a separate agreement between Bangladesh and Pakistan to import rice. On January 14, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at the Food Ministry between the Directorate General of Food and Pakistan’s Trading Corporation (TCP). Record Aman harvest, yet rice prices soar: Who's to blame? Abdul Khalek, Director General of the Directorate General of Food, and Syed Rafi Bashir Shah, Chairman of TCP, signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations. According to sources at the Directorate General of Food, the procurement process will commence following approval from the government’s purchase committee. Shipments from Pakistan are expected to begin arriving by February. Consignment of 2,450 metric tonnes of Indian rice arrives at Darshana Port The Food Ministry stated in its release that the MoU is anticipated to stabilise the domestic rice market while fostering economic and trade relations between the two countries. "This agreement is expected to open a new chapter in strengthening bilateral ties and ensuring food security," the statement said.

One of the most powerful ethnic minority armed groups battling Myanmar’s army has claimed the capture of the last army outpost in the strategic western town of Maungdaw, gaining full control of the 271-kilometer (168-mile) -long border with Bangladesh. The capture by the Arakan Army makes the group’s control of the northern part of Rakhine state complete, and marks another advance in its bid for self-rule there. ICC prosecutor requests arrest warrant for the head of Myanmar's military regime Rakhine has become a focal point for Myanmar’s nationwide civil war, in which pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority armed forces seeking autonomy battle the country’s military rulers, who took power in 2021 after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, told The Associated Press by text message from an undisclosed location late Monday that his group had seized the last remaining military outpost in Maungdaw on Sunday. Outpost commander Brig. Gen. Thurein Tun, was captured while attempting to flee the battle, Khaing Thukha said. Myanmar's conflict-torn Rakhine state could face an imminent acute famine, UN report warns The situation in Maungdaw could not be independently confirmed, with access to the internet and mobile phone services in the area mostly cut off. Myanmar’s military government did not immediately comment. Maungdaw, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, has been the target of an Arakan Army offensive since June. The group captured Paletwa and Buthidaung, two other towns on the border with Bangladesh, earlier this year. Since November 2023, the Arakan Army has gained control of 11 of Rakhine’s 17 townships, along with one in neighboring Chin state. Ann, a town in Rakhine that hosts the strategically important military headquarters overseeing the western part of the country, appears to be on the verge of falling entirely to the Arakan Army. The group posted on the Telegram messaging app late Friday that it had taken more than 30 military outposts, except the army’s western command, which controls Rakhine and the southern part of neighboring Chin state, as well as the country’s territorial waters in the Bay of Bengal.   Recent fighting in Rakhine has raised fears of a revival of organized violence against members of the Muslim Rohingya minority, similar to that which drove at least 740,000 members of their community in 2017 to flee to neighboring Bangladesh for safety. The Arakan Army, which is the military wing of the Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group in Rakhine state, where they are the majority and seek autonomy from Myanmar’s central government, denies the allegations, though witnesses have described the group’s actions to the AP and other media. Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations, but they are widely regarded by many in the country’s Buddhist majority, including members of the Rakhine minority, as having illegally migrated from Bangladesh. The Rohingya face a great amount of prejudice and are generally denied citizenship and other basic rights. The border between Myanmar and Bangladesh extends from land to the Naf River and offshore in the Bay of Bengal. The Arakan Army said Sunday it had ordered the suspension of transport across the Naf River because police and local Muslims affiliated with the army were attempting to escape by boat to Bangladesh. The rebel group has been accused of major human rights violations, particularly involving its capture of the town of Buthidaung in mid-May, when it was accused of forcing an estimated 200,000 residents, largely Rohingyas, to leave, and then setting fire to most of the buildings. It was accused of attacking Rohingya civilians fleeing fighting in Maungdaw in August. New sanctions target Myanmar's military suppliers The Arakan Army is also part of an armed ethnic alliance that launched an offensive in northeastern Myanmar last year and gained strategic territory along the border with China.