Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has urged the new US administration to play a leading role, both bilaterally and multilaterally, in bringing about a durable solution to the Rohingya crisis.

Police dispersed protesters in Myanmar’s two biggest cities yesterday, firing stun grenades, rubber bullets and guns into the air, witnesses said, as the challenge to the army’s bid to re-impose its rule showed no sign of slackening.

India’s coast guard found 81 survivors and eight dead on a boat crammed with Muslim Rohingya refugees adrift in the Andaman Sea, and were repairing the vessel so that it can return safely to Bangladesh, Indian officials said on Friday.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has requested the UN to provide humanitarian assistance for the Rohingyas in Bhasan Char, where a housing facility has been developed for one lakh Rohingyas.

Supporters of Myanmar’s military, some armed with knives and clubs, others firing catapults and throwing stones, attacked opponents of the February 1 coup, while Southeast Asian neighbours looked for ways to end the crisis.

With established media under ever greater pressure, the story of Myanmar’s anti-coup protests is being shaped for its people and the world by journalists and citizens streaming and sharing snippets of video and pictures.

Rescuers hunted for at least one person still missing on Thursday after an illegal gold mine collapse in Indonesia killed six people.

The Indian coast guard found a boat carrying Rohingya refugees adrift in the Andaman Sea and provided them with food, water and medical care, the UN refugee agency said Thursday.

Fortify Rights and 136 other organisations have written an open letter, calling for the UN Security Council to institute a coordinated, global arms embargo against the Myanmar military that has taken control of power through a coup on February 1.

The European Commission today announced €39 million in humanitarian aid to address the needs of displaced and conflict-affected communities, especially Rohingyas in Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Indonesia’s foreign minister plans to fly to Myanmar on Thursday in the first known visit by a foreign envoy since the February 1 military coup, a leaked government document said, as Western pressure mounts over a crackdown on protesters.

Nine women suspected of plotting to blow up military targets in the restive southern Philippines have been arrested, the army said yesterday.

Myanmar’s military leaders came under renewed pressure yesterday as the world’s wealthiest nations condemned the junta for responding to anti-coup demonstrators “with violence”, a rebuke coming on the heels of tightened sanctions from Washington and Brussels.

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami has said Bangladesh can export edible oil to India with 20 percent value addition to the product.

Awami League Joint General Secretary and Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today urged journalists to be careful when publishing news on Bangladesh-India relations so that the news does not affect the relations through inaccurate information.

Malaysia’s immigration department said on Tuesday (Feb 23) it had carried out a repatriation programme involving 1,086 Myanmar nationals, despite an earlier court order staying the deportation.

A Malaysian court has allowed a temporary stay of deportation of 1,200 Myanmar detainees who were scheduled to be sent back on Tuesday, according to a lawyer for rights groups that petitioned to stop the deportation.

The US space agency Nasa on Monday (February 22) released the first audio from Mars, a faint wind sound captured by the Perseverance rover.

A general strike against military rule shut businesses in Myanmar yesterday and huge crowds gathered peacefully despite fears of violence after authorities warned that confrontation could be deadly.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today urged other countries and human rights bodies to come forward to share the burden of Rohingyas, saying that Bangladesh has done enough.