Dhaka, Aug 9 (IANS) Samina Lutfa, an Associate Professor of the Department of Sociology at the Dhaka University, on Saturday criticised the male-dominated decision-making process in Bangladesh, where men bargain over political participation of women, their roles, and seat allocations, quite “similar to a fish market”.Lutfa’s observations came at a roundtable titled ‘Women’s seats in the National Parliament and women’s political empowerment’ organised by Bangladesh’s leading daily Prothom Alo i…

Lanzhou, Aug 9 (IANS) Mountain torrents in Yuzhong County, northwest China’s Gansu Province, had left 13 dead and 30 missing as of noon on Saturday, provincial emergency authorities said. Torrential rains, which led to the mountain torrents, began pounding Yuzhong, which is under the jurisdiction of the provincial capital of Lanzhou, as well as other areas of Lanzhou on Thursday evening, with precipitation reaching 220.2 millimetres by noon on Friday.Search and rescue efforts and infrastructure …

Dhaka, Aug 9 (IANS) Flagship Chinese projects in Sri Lanka — such as the Colombo Port City and Sinopec’s $3.7 billion Hambantota oil refinery — are now entangled in complications the government led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is struggling to resolve, a report highlighted on Saturday. While both sides had lined up multiple ventures, recent issues, including regulatory concerns, have cast doubt on the long-term sustainability of Chinese investments, the report in Daily Sun, a leadin…

Dhaka, Aug 9 (IANS) Several students from Dhaka University (DU) in Bangladesh took out a protest rally on Saturday, demanding the expulsion of eight students following their appointment to the hall committee of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the local media reported. The protesting students marched through various roads of the campus, raising slogans including ‘One two three four/Hall Politics No More’, ‘Hall politics Cholbe Na Cholbe …

Colombo, Aug 9 (IANS) Economic engagement with China cannot be sustained through shortcuts or opacity, a report in Sri Lanka’s leading newspaper highlighted citing the crisis surrounding the “bold venture” with BYD to bring electric vehicles into the island nation. “When Sri Lanka announced a partnership with China’s BYD to bring electric vehicles into the country, it was heralded as a double victory: a leap toward green mobility and a symbol of deepening economic ties with Beijing. Today, that …

Tokyo, Aug 9 (IANS) Japan and India are breaking through decades of constraints and traditional defence partnerships to forge an “unprecedented high-technology military collaboration”, Tokyo-based Japan Forward Association emphasised this week in a detailed report. “The Indo-Pacific region is at a critical juncture where technological superiority increasingly determines strategic outcomes. Against this backdrop, Japan and India are breaking through decades of constraints and traditional defence …

New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said on Saturday that the party’s government is committed to the development of all 256 Seva Bastis in the city and determined to provide them with every possible facility. Celebrating Raksha Bandhan with women and children of Vinod Nagar Nehru Camp (Seva Basti), Sachdeva said that this is not just a celebration, but a commitment to stay connected with every section of society and to strengthen the bond of belongingness.On this occa…

Kolkata, Aug 9 (IANS) The first anniversary of the ghastly rape and murder of a junior woman doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on Saturday was marred by massive violence and tension on the streets of Kolkata and Howrah following scuffle between the police personnel and protesters participating in “Nabanna Avijan” (march to state secretariat) rally.The most unfortunate part was that the victim’s mother had to be hospitalised after she fell ill amid police action against the prot…

Lucknow, Aug 9 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh government is set to observe ‘Partition Horror Memorial Day’ in all 75 districts of the state, under which the state residents will be made aware of the ‘pangs of partition’ and also enlightened about the adversities that the displaced families had to face, in its aftermath. According to some government officials, exhibitions and films on India’s partition will be screened in schools, colleges, and universities across the state.While August 14 will b…

Chennai, Aug 9 (IANS) Nearly three years after an application was filed, Salem’s celebrated silver anklets are still waiting for the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. The delay, according to industry representatives, stems from the lack of documentary proof required to establish the craft’s antiquity and distinctiveness — even though Salem is one of the country’s largest hubs for silver anklet production. The trade has been part of the city’s cultural fabric for generations, but most un…