KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – Interns at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) apparently left their posts recently just long enough to beat up approximately 10 journalists, leaving one critically injured. What would Hippocrates say? On April 22, The Daily Star reported that police had been escorting journalists into the hospital the previous Sunday…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Medical Interns Attack JournalistsAuthor: Kiara Bramasco
Kiara is currently studying Political Science at LMU and has plans to graduate in 2014.
BANGLADESH: From Blog to Arrest
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – On February 18, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladeshi Police force, arrested 21-year-old Rasel Bin Sattar Khan for circulating an audiovisual message online. According to The Hindu, the message is believed to be from al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri who…
Full Article BANGLADESH: From Blog to ArrestBANGLADESH: Journalists Under Arrest
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – Three Bangladeshi journalists were arrested January 16 for publishing what Information Minister Hansanul Huq Inu called a “baseless” story. The story in question was a report in the online and print editions of the pro-opposition Daily Inqilab that Indian security forces had helped Bangladeshi officials contain…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Journalists Under ArrestBANGLADESH: Tweets for Change
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – Internet technology and Twitter join forces to spread awareness of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. The Accord is an independent, legally-binging agreement signed by over 100 apparel corporations, several Bangladeshi Unions, two global trade unions, and nineteen countries from Europe, North America,…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Tweets for ChangeBANGLADESH: Spotlight Shifts to Tanneries
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – The Bangladeshi garment industry is no stranger to inspection in recent months, but the spotlight is now shifting from cloth to hide. The industry has been under a microscope ever since 1,129 people died earlier this year in the collapse of Rana Plaza, an eight-story commercial…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Spotlight Shifts to TanneriesBANGLADESH: Televised Nationwide Quiz – No Cheating!
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – In the hopes of promoting a well rounded education, Bangladesh is turning to the media to showcase its first ever, nation wide quiz. Launched by the leading Bangladeshi newspaper, The Daily Star and the e-learning portal champs21.com, the quiz tested kids from classes VI to X…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Televised Nationwide Quiz – No Cheating!Bangladesh: Art in the Slums Honors Working Women
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – The hard-working women of Bangladesh were honored recently in an art exhibition just as beautiful as they are, with the added bonus of the art being reusable for housing insulation later! On September 13 a public art exhibition opened in the Korail slum, the largest in…
Full Article Bangladesh: Art in the Slums Honors Working WomenBANGLADESH: Bicycles Bring Internet to Rural Areas
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – Ladies clad in pink and blue uniforms on bikes are appearing in Bangladesh’s remote villages, bearing the gift of the Internet. These women, called “info ladies” ride their bikes across the countryside with laptops ready to hold Internet sessions for the disconnected. The Guardian newspaper reports…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Bicycles Bring Internet to Rural AreasBANGLADESH: Collapsing Disaster in Booming Garment Industry
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – The worst disaster to hit Bangladesh’s garment industry happened on Wednesday, April 24th with a death toll of 344 and counting. The media regarding Bangladesh is dominated by this story and rightly so. With unapproved construction of parts of the garment factory and ignored warnings of…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Collapsing Disaster in Booming Garment IndustryBANGLADESH: Full Court Press Is Next?
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – A top editor at Bangladesh’s Amar Desh newspaper has been arrested and at least one human rights group says he’s being tortured in police custody. The international Committee to Protect Journalists, meanwhile, has called on the government to stop its official harassment of the Dhaka daily.…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Full Court Press Is Next?BANGLADESH: Blasphemy No Longer Allowed
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – Rest easy, readers. The Bangladeshi government has been busy clearing the cyberworld of blasphemous content. The Daily Star reports a group of “Muslim Clerics” submitted a list of bloggers they believe are responsible for alleged insults to Islam made online. The list was handed to a…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Blasphemy No Longer AllowedBANGLADESH: Poverty Decrease Gets ‘Daily Star’
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – One of Bangladesh’s leading newspapers, The Daily Star, has reported that poverty levels are decreasing. The United Nations’ latest development report stated that there are 40 poor countries that are helping to reduce poverty levels and that “Never in history have the living conditions and prospects…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Poverty Decrease Gets ‘Daily Star’BANGLADESH: Face(book) on the Moon
An amateurishly doctored picture of convicted war criminal Delwar Hossain Sayedee’s face superimposed on the moon has sparked violence by his supporters who apparently saw it as a divine omen. The photo, which was posted to the Jamaat-Shibir Facebook page Saturday night, quickly went viral, and was spread by supporters via…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Face(book) on the MoonBANGLADESH: Persistent Outrage Over Crusading Blogger’s Death
Bangladesh news coverage this month has been dominated by demonstrations in Dakha demanding stiffer sentences for war criminals from the country’s 1971 Liberation War. Now, hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis have been gathering as they also seek justice for the killing of Ahmed Rajib Haider, a blogger who helped organize…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Persistent Outrage Over Crusading Blogger’s DeathBANGLADESH: Money On The Go
Mobile Money has been making its way through Bangladesh. bKash Limited company is a subsidiary of BRAC Bank (a private commercial bank in Bangladesh) that has helped launch a new service that allows Bangladeshis to transfer money through their mobile phones. According to a report in The Economist,…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Money On The GoBANGLADESH: Death Penalty Kills a Deal
A new proposal from Bangladesh to make counterfeiting money punishable by the death penalty has alarmed the German Bundensbank (German Central Bank) who originally offered to assist Bangladesh in detecting counterfeit money. The Economist reports that Bangladesh, plagued with more than 5,000 pending cases regarding currency counterfeiting, is scheduled to…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Death Penalty Kills a Deal