A freeze on new migrant-worker applications has employers warning of looming labour shortages – even as tens of thousands who were tricked into moving to Malaysia struggle to find legal work.

The move to deport the Rohingya refugees happened just as India enacted a controversial new citizenship law.

Hijra, a legally recognised third gender in the country, are often discriminated against in employment and are much more likely to be victims of violent crime and poverty than the average Bangladeshi.

A rise in anti-trans posts on Facebook and other websites has alarmed trans rights advocates in the country.

New Delhi announces the long delayed implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, which sparked violent protests in 2019 when it was unveiled.

Critics fear changes to the 2019 citizenship law, combined with a proposed national register of citizens, can discriminate against the nation’s 200 million Muslims.

Rights groups allege tens of thousands of Bangladeshis have been tricked into coming to Malaysia over non-existent jobs and now face further exploitation.

The influencers have attracted hundreds of thousands of followers who lap up online videos of them speaking in Bengali

Dozens more were injured and are in hospital after a blaze started in a popular biryani restaurant in Dhaka and spread to the building’s upper floors.

The latest job cuts at Daraz come amid ‘unprecedented challenges in the market’, according to acting chief executive James Dong.

An activist says dozens more people have yet to be rescued, in a case that highlights the risks that people from Bangladesh face when accepting jobs in Malaysia.

The Bangladeshi opposition claims Hasina’s Awami League has won the past three general elections ‘all because of India’s support’.

Indian police say increasing amounts of the toxin have been seized at the Bangladesh border en route to China for use in traditional medicines – and as a rave drug – but venom experts aren’t so sure.

Many third or fourth generation rickshaw artists are losing interest in the time-consuming craft that provides little recognition or income.

Last month’s China-mediated ceasefire between Myanmar’s junta, the Arakan Army and other ethnic minority fighters doesn’t apply to areas near the Bangladeshi and Indian borders.

Young Rohingya women in Bangladesh are trafficked to India on the pretext of ‘marriage to a good man’, but often end up arrested and detained in shelters.

Turnout was low after voters apparently heeded an opposition call to stay away, dismayed by the collapse in freedom of speech and safety to dissent in recent years.

Hasina’s ruling Awami League party faced almost no effective rivals in the seats it contested. Her government has been accused of rampant human rights abuses and a ruthless opposition crackdown.

Turnout was 27.15 per cent at 3pm, an hour before polls closed, the election commission said, compared with overall turnout of more than 80 per cent in the last election in 2018.

Anwara Islam Rani, who is running as an independent in Rangpur constituency, believes she has the backing to triumph over a former government minister.

‘Many’ sovereigns in south and southeast Asia are at risk of negative rating action, with Singapore as the exception, the company says.

With Modi on course for a third term, Jokowi lining up a new political dynasty and the opposition hamstrung in both Pakistan and Bangladesh, illiberal democracy looks likely to be the biggest winner of this year’s polls.

Friday night’s blaze engulfed the intercity Benapole Express in central Dhaka, with hundreds scrambling to pull passengers from burning carriages.