That very little progress has been made with regard to the repatriation of the Rohingyas has been amply expressed by the prime minister in her meeting with the secretary general of Amnesty International very recently. The statement of the PM's special advisor on foreign affairs that unless sanction is imposed on Myanmar, their repatriation and a sustainable solution to the Rohingya issue are very unlikely, speaks of the intractability of the problem.

It was around eleven in the morning.

The long journey to find peace for Rohingya refugee Kobir Ahmed can be told through the different birth countries of his eight children -- Myanmar, Malaysia and Australia -- although they remain citizens of no nation.

In recent times, numerous international rights organisations and leaders across the world have been arguing for the referral of the “ethnic cleansing” campaign of the Rohingyas in Rakhine State, Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The world at least owes the Rohingyas an acknowledgement of their pain and suffering, as a fact, by holding the culprits and the instigators of the ethnic cleansing

With the process of Rohingya repatriation caught in a limbo, Bangladesh yesterday handed Myanmar a list of 8,032 refugees from 1,673 families who are likely to be the first batch to return to their homeland.

Myanmar's admission that soldiers were involved in the murder of 10 Muslims in September is an important step and the United States hopes it will be followed by more transparency and accountability, the US ambassador says.

Despite widespread international condemnation and an agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh for Myanmar to stop the violence against its minorities, and to take back its nationals who have sought shelter in Bangladesh, nothing has changed as yet.

The US House of Representatives has condemned the "ethnic cleansing of the Rohingyas" and passed a resolution by a two-thirds voice vote "calling for an end to the attacks" against the Muslim minority in Myanmar.

India has said Bangladesh and Myanmar should implement a systematic process of verification to facilitate the repatriation of Rohingyas.

For the first time on his Asia tour, Pope Francis referred to the Rohingya people by name yesterday and assured them of continued support so that they can get their rights back.

Rohingya are still fleeing into Bangladesh even after an agreement was signed with Myanmar to repatriate hundreds of thousands of the Muslim minority displaced along the border, officials said yesterday.

In Keruntali Rohingya camp of Teknaf, where stories of sexual harassment and rapes at night are ubiquitous, anything that comes in handy for women to stave off unwanted advances is a huge blessing.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday renewed her call to Myanmar to immediately start the repatriation of the Rohingyas.

Although some contentious issues remain unresolved, Bangladesh and Myanmar are likely to sign an agreement today on the return of Rohingyas to Rakhine.

Describing Myanmar army's atrocities on Rohingya people in Rakhaine State as “war crime” and “basic violation of human rights”, the visiting US senators have assured Bangladesh of extending all-out support to resolve the crisis.

The International Rescue Committee fears around two lakh more Rohingyas will flee to Bangladesh in coming weeks, exacerbating an already "unimaginable humanitarian crisis" in Cox's Bazar that already hosts over eight lakh refugees.

United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten yesterday said they consistently heard about sexual violence from Rohingya survivors, including gang rape of women by multiple soldiers.

Over 1,500 Rohingya floated into Bangladesh in a single day yesterday as the persecuted minorities continue to flee violence in Myanmar.

The United States right now is preferring diplomatic solutions to the Rohingya crisis instead of punishment to Myanmar though there is scope for sanctions if needed, a State Department official said in Dhaka yesterday.

The Chinese recipe for resolving the Rohingya crisis is not working. Yet, Beijing is insisting on it.