Author: Priya Saha

PEOPLE OVER 60 were hit particularly hard by the impact of the pandemic and lockdown. These are the findings of a research project undertaken by the University of Manchester’s Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity and the Runnymede Trust. The research, called Marginalised Voices – the impact of Covid on older ethnic minority people found that ‘the digital divide’ – the gap between those who have access to the Internet and other communication technologies – often played a key role in preventing senior citizens from easily accessing reliable information about public health. Although senior citizens were more likely to rely…

Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad and other religious minority organisations jointly brought out a procession across the country today demanding immediate resignation of Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen over his statement on the recent attack on Hindu houses, temples and shops across the country during the Durga Puja. They staged a demonstration protesting a statement made by the minister on October 31 over recent communal attacks in the country, said a press release. For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. Before the procession, the protesters held rallies in the press clubs in Dhaka and Chattogram…

Topline Several Rohingya refugees in the U.S. and U.K. sued Facebook for $150 billion on Monday, accusing the company of allowing the spread of hate speech against them on its social media platform that was followed by large-scale violence against the ethnic minority group in Myanmar. Recently arrived Rohingya refugees wait to receive aid donations in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Getty Images Key Facts A class-action suit filed in California alleges Facebook’s failures to monitor content on the platform led to real-world violence against the Muslim minority group in Myanmar, Reuters reported. In coordination with the California filing, a law firm…

LAHORE: Pakistani Hindu families, who were stranded in India for months, returned to the country on Tuesday through the Wagah border crossing.  The families had gone to the neighbouring country in hopes of becoming Indian citizens but were unable to do so despite staying in India for several years. The families were then stranded near the Attari-Wagah border for months.  During their stay in India, they faced discrimination and inhumane treatment at the hand of Indian authorities. The families, numbering more than 100 people, were unable to return to Pakistan despite necessary preparations being completed for the reception at the Wagah…

ASIA/TURKEY – New regulations on Foundations linked to non-Muslim communities are on the way Ankara (Agenzia Fides) – The Turkish government is preparing to issue a new regulation on the administrative management of Foundations linked to non-Muslim faith communities, which have been paralyzed for years by a legislative impasse which effectively blocks the renewal of their respective governing bodies. In Turkey, the management of minority foundations closely affects the life of local Christian communities, starting with the Armenian one. These bodies are in fact entrusted with the management of places of worship. Real estate and public institutions linked to…

Dhaka, Bangladesh — Wherever you go in the world, someone is in a religious minority. In Bangladesh, it’s the Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. All religions strive to inspire people of other faiths. They don’t seek to harm or hurt others, says Sr. Reba Veronica D’Costa, who works to spread religious harmony. D’Costa, a 63-year-old member of the Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions, spoke on interreligious unity recently in a seminar with 250 faith leaders in Dhaka. Among them were several Catholic sisters from the Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions, Holy Cross and Associates of Mary Queen…

Asserting that the Indo-Bangla ties are not confined to treaties and agreements, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said the partnership between the two countries has matured, taking a dynamic, comprehensive and strategic shape.In her online message at an event here to commemorate Maitri Diwas marking the 50th anniversary of India-Bangladesh diplomatic relations, she also said the core of the bilateral relationship needs to focus on people-to-people contact, trade and connectivity which have become increasingly important for both sides.”Our partnership is not confined to treaties, MoUs, bilateral agreements that provide the formal structure of our working relations. Today our…

SINGAPORE — A court in Myanmar sentenced civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of inciting violence and violating COVID-19 rules, dealing another blow to democracy in a country plunged into chaos by a military coup.Suu Kyi was initially sentenced to four years in prison Monday, but the military government later reduced the sentence to two years under house arrest, according to state-owned media. The sentence is expected to be the first of more to come; Suu Kyi is facing 11 charges in total, including for corruption and the sharing of state secrets. If found guilty of all charges, the 76-year-old…

While celebrating achievements in this golden jubilee year, Bangladesh needs to take steps to reduce economic and social injustice and improve the quality of democracy so that people get fair share of development, an international conference was told yesterday. The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) is organizing the four-day event to tell the story of Bangladesh’s developments in the last 50 years since independence and challenges that are lying ahead.  “We want to discuss not simply our achievements, we also want to note our shortfalls and mistakes so that we can learn lessons from them for course correction in the…

Hundreds of Hindus protesting against attacks on temples and the killing of two Hindu devotees shout slogans in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, October 18, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain OpuAdvertisementIn a couple of weeks, Bangladesh will celebrate the golden jubilee of its victory in the liberation war against Pakistan. Fifty years have passed since it became independent, and secular nationalist forces gained the upper hand over religious ones in the war. However, Bangladesh has not been able to secure its secularism.Debates about the country’s secular national identity, a founding principle of the state, persist to date. Some argue that secularism was…

The Turkish government has continued to engage in action, deliberate inaction and rhetoric to fuel a political environment hostile to religious minorities, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said on Friday, in a country update on Turkey. According to the report little effort has been made to address key religious freedom issues, and as a result religious freedom conditions in Turkey remained poor in 2021. The report listed such key religious freedom issues as granting minority religious communities legal personality and permission to hold board member elections; recognizing Alevi houses of worship; and reopening the Theological School…

The brutal killing of a Sri Lankan national, Priyantha Kumara Diyawadanage, is the latest in the long list of such socially acceptable and religiously legitimised crimes in Pakistan Pakistan, in recent times, has experienced numerous socio-political incidents of violence — strangely, all in the name of Islam. Life seems to have no value there, and an alleged ‘crime’ of tearing a poster with Prophet Mohammad’s name can culminate into a horrific death; the ‘accused’ is not only lynched, but also burnt alive by a mob of ‘believers’. The brutal killing of a Sri Lankan national, Priyantha Kumara Diyawadanage, who worked…