The past year has been both a glass half empty and half full for the world's democracies.

Thousands of members of youth and student bodies belonging to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have marched from the capital toward the country's eastern border with India to protest an attack on a diplomatic mission and alleged desecration of Bangladeshi flags in India.

A special tribunal in Bangladesh has banned the publication of any speeches by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is in exile in India after being ousted in August after mass protests.

Bangladesh’s High Court acquitted former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, and 48 others, overturning their verdicts in a deadly 2004 grenade attack on a political rally.

A prominent Bangladeshi Hindu leader who has been leading rallies demanding security for Hindus in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation has been ordered detained on charges of sedition.

A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Monday told investigators they have one month to complete their work on ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her close aides, who face charges of crimes against humanity after hundreds of people were killed in a mass uprising this summer.

Rivals of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have thwarted a plan by her Awami League party to hold a rally in the capital.

Tens of thousands of activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have rallied in the nation's capital.

A special court in Bangladesh has issued arrest warrants for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 45 others, including her close aides, on charges of crimes against humanity during a student-led uprising in July and August that forced her to flee the country.

Minority Hindus in the Muslim-majority Bangladesh are celebrating their largest religious festival of Durga Puja, but fear and worries grip them following reports of violence.

Thousands of activists and opposition leaders from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have rallied in the capital.

It’s been a month since a student-led movement ousted Bangladesh's prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

An interim government in Bangladesh has signed the instrument of accession to an international convention of the United Nations aiming at preventing enforced disappearances as a state party.

President Joe Biden has spoken with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees have rallied in a southern Bangladeshi coastal district where they live in sprawling camps, marking the seventh anniversary of their mass exodus from Myanmar.

A court in Bangladesh’s capital has allowed police to interrogate two journalists in their custody for four days in connection with the murder of a garment worker, who joined recent student protests against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that forced her to step down and flee to India earlier this month.

Hundreds of student protesters and other political activists in Bangladesh have attacked and barred the supporters of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's supporters from reaching her father and independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s house — now a museum — in the capital.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed concern over the unrest that led to a change of government in neighboring Bangladesh and the attacks on Hindus and other minorities there.

Within a week of unseating Bangladesh’s longest-serving prime minister, the students who drove out former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina were directing Dhaka’s traffic.

Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has issued a call from her self-exile in India for an investigation into the killings of students and others during weeks of violent protests in her country that prompted her ouster.

Ever since Bangladesh's prime minister was forced to step down and fled the country, her supporters and associates have faced retaliatory attacks.

The head of Bangladesh’s interim government says the high-profile resignations of authorities close to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are legal after student leaders who organized protests against Hasina’s government issued ultimatums for them to quit.

A generation of young people, many of whom cannot remember a time before Sheikh Hasina was Bangladesh’s prime minister, led protests that resulted in her ouster.

Bangladesh’s Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan has resigned following new protests by students and other demonstrators, as the interim government starts functioning after a mass uprising toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

In Bangladesh, weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs turned into a broad uprising that forced the prime minister to flee the country and resign.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken the oath of office to lead Bangladesh’s interim government after protests forced out Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this week.

Bangladesh’s incoming interim leader Muhammad Yunus has appealed for calm and urged all parties to help the country rebuild after weeks of violence that killed hundreds of people and prompted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to India.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has been chosen to head Bangladesh’s interim government after student protests sparked an uprising that toppled the former leader.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will head Bangladesh’s interim government after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country amid a mass uprising against her rule.

Sheikh Hasina, the longest-serving prime minister in Bangladesh’s history, has resigned and fled the country, bringing a tumultuous end to her 15-year rule as an extraordinary wave of protest succeeded in toppling her government.

Bangladesh’s prime minister has resigned and fled the country, after weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs descended into violence and grew into a broader challenge to her 15-year rule.

Nearly 100 people have been killed and hundreds more injured as renewed anti-government protests sweep across Bangladesh.

Thousands of people have protested peacefully in Bangladesh’s capital to demand justice for more than 200 students and others killed during protests last month, but violence was reported at similar events elsewhere in the country.

New protests have erupted in Bangladesh against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government, demanding accountability for more than 200 people killed in last month’s violent clashes with security forces.

Bangladesh has banned the Jamaat-e-Islami party, its student wing and other associate bodies, terming the party as a “militant and terrorist” organization as part of a nationwide crackdown following weeks of violence that left more than 200 people dead and thousands injured.

Bangladesh is observing a day of mourning in memory of more than 200 people killed in recent weeks during violence that evolved from student protests over a quota system that reserved 30% of government jobs for war veterans.

Bangladesh is crawling back to normalcy after more than a week of chaos triggered by student protests over a quota system in government jobs.

Bangladesh is still without internet for a fifth day and the government declared a public holiday Monday, as authorities maintained tight control despite apparent calm following a court order that scaled back a controversial system for allocating government jobs that sparked violent protests.

Bangladesh’s top court has scaled back a controversial quota system for government job applicants after it led to nationwide unrest and deadly clashes between police and protesters that have killed scores of people.

Police imposed a strict curfew with a “shoot-on-sight” order across Bangladesh as military forces patrolled parts of the capital after scores were killed and hundreds injured in clashes over the allocation of civil service jobs.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government has announced a nationwide curfew across Bangladesh and ordered the deployment of military forces to maintain order following days of deadly clashes over the allocation of government jobs.

What began as peaceful protests by students in Bangladesh against a quota system for government jobs eventually turned into an uprising that forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country by helicopter.

Media reports from Bangladesh say 19 more people have died in clashes between police and student protesters attempting to impose a “complete shutdown” of the country, following days of violent confrontations during demonstrations over a system of allocating government jobs.

Several major universities in Bangladesh have agreed to shut their doors after at least six people died in violent campus protests.

Media reports in Bangladesh say at least five people have been killed and dozens injured in violence around the country connected with student protests against a government jobs quota.

India and Bangladesh on Saturday moved to bolster their defense relationship and signed agreements for expanding cooperation in maritime security, ocean economy, space, and telecommunication sectors, as New Delhi tries to present itself as a regional power and a counterweight to China.

Bangladesh's prime minister says a six-story shopping mall that caught fire in the country's capital had no fire exits.

Officials say a fire at a shopping mall in Bangladesh's capital killed at least 43 people and injured dozens of others.

More than 50 countries that together have half the world’s population are expecting national elections in 2024.

The United States and the United Kingdom say the elections that extended Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's rule were not credible, free and fair.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has swept to power for a fourth consecutive term in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has won an overwhelming majority in Bangladesh’s parliamentary election after a campaign fraught with violence and a boycott from the main opposition party, giving her and her Awami League a fourth consecutive term.

Bangladesh’s main opposition party has started a 48-hour general strike on the eve on a general election, calling on people to boycott the vote because it says the government of incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina can’t guarantee its fairness.

In the months leading to Bangladesh’s national election on Sunday, thousands of opposition supporters and politicians have been arrested.

The elections in Bangladesh are all about one person: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

A labor court in Bangladesh’s capital has sentenced Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus to six months in jail for violating the country’s labor laws.

Authorities in Bangladesh have arrested a key opposition figure from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and sent him to prison after hours of detention.

More than 170 global leaders and Nobel laureates are urging Bangladesh to suspend legal proceedings against Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for pioneering the use of microcredit to help impoverished people.

Police in northeastern Bangladesh have used batons and tear gas to disperse opposition activists amid a political dispute over who will oversee the next election, which is expected to be held in January.

Early warnings from weather agencies and better preparedness by local governments and aid agencies likely saved thousands of lives during a powerful cyclone that slammed into Bangladesh and Myanmar over the weekend.

Bangladesh’s prime minister has inaugurated the country’s first metro rail service aimed at easing notorious traffic jams in capital Dhaka.

Bangladesh is marking 25 years since the government signed a peace treaty to end decades of fighting by a tribal insurgent group seeking autonomy in the hilly southeast region bordering Myanmar and India.

The United Nations was established on one simple notion above all others — that working together is better than going it alone.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees are marking the fifth anniversary of their exodus from Myanmar to Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has sought cooperation from China to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar during a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who promised better trade ties, investment and support for infrastructure development in the South Asian nation.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has celebrated the opening of the country’s longest bridge, which took eight years to build amid setbacks involving political conflict and corruption allegations.

Villagers in northeastern Bangladesh are crowding makeshift refugee centers and scrambling to meet boats arriving with food and fresh water as massive floods, which have killed dozens of people and displaced hundreds of thousands there and in neighboring India, continue to wreak havoc.

Authorities in Bangladesh are struggling to determine the cause of a devastating fire that killed at least 41 people, including nine firefighters, and injured more than 100 others at a shipping container storage depot.

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh’s sprawling camps have welcomed an announcement by the U.S. calling the repression on the minority group in Myanmar a genocide.

Bangladeshi authorities have buried 23 unclaimed bodies after a day-long search failed to recover more victims or survivors of a massive fire on a crowded river ferry that left 40 people dead.

At least seven people have been killed as Bangladesh holds village council elections that are certain to further consolidate the governing party’s power but have raised concerns about the country's state of democracy.

Bangladesh is holding a series of local elections to choose representatives at the village level amid a boycott by the country’s largest opposition party.

Impacts of climate change from more frequent cyclones to tidal flooding are devastating Bangladesh, where an estimated 30 million people may be displaced from the coast.

The United Nations and Bangladesh's government have agreed to work together to help Rohingya refugees who live on an island in the Bay of Bengal.

Only five women addressed the United Nations General Assembly in the first half of its session this year.

New York-based Human Rights Watch is urging the United Nations to lead an independent investigation into the alleged disappearances of government critics and others at the hands of security forces in Bangladesh.

The press watchdog Reporters Without Borders has put Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on its list of “predators.”.

Hospitals near Bangladesh’s border with India are crowded with patients struggling to breathe and worried relatives desperately trying to find oxygen cylinders.

John Kerry, the special U.S. envoy on climate, says President Joe Biden is eager to work with Bangladesh in dealing with the impact of climate change after the United States' return to the Paris accord.

On March 26, 1971, Bangladesh declared independence, sparking the nine-month war. Pakistan launched a military operation to stop the move to independence, while India joined on the side of what is now Bangladesh. (AP Photo/Dennis Lee Royle, File)DHAKA – Shafiqul Islam was studying business at Dhaka College in 1971 when a bloody and brutal war for independence ravaged Bangladesh. The land was carved into separate states, with the Muslim-majority regions becoming East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, and West Pakistan, now simply Pakistan. On March 26, 1971, Bangladesh declared independence, sparking the nine-month war.

Bangladesh's first transgender news anchor Tashnuva Anan Shishir reads news bulletin , in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. A Bangladeshi satellite television station has signed up the South Asian county's first transgender news anchor with a hope to remove the deeply-rooted social stigma they face. (AP Photo/Al-emrun Garjon)DHAKA – A Bangladeshi satellite television station has hired the country’s first transgender news anchor, saying it hopes the appointment will help change society. Tashnuva Anan Shishir, who previously worked as a rights activist and actress, debuted on Dhaka-based Boishakhi TV on Monday, International Women’s Day. AdBoishakhi TV said it wanted to be part of the changes and has hired a second transgender person in its drama department.

Rohingya refugees walk with their belongings to be relocated to to the island of Bhasan Char, in Chattogram, Bangladesh, Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. Authorities in Bangladesh sent a third group of Rohingya refugees to a newly developed island in the Bay of Bengal on Friday despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP Photo/Azim Aunon)DHAKA – Authorities in Bangladesh sent a third group of Rohingya refugees to a newly developed island in the Bay of Bengal on Friday despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. But the government said the human rights groups and the U.N. should understand its good intentions. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have urged the government to cancel the plan.

A Rohingya refugee woman who is among those being moved to an island called Bhasan Char cries outside a transit area where they are temporally housed in Ukhiya, Bangladesh, Thursday, Dec.3, 2020. (AP Photo/ Shafiqur Rahman)DHAKA – Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process, officials said Thursday. Authorities in Cox’s Bazar did not say how the refugees were selected for relocation. “The United Nations takes this opportunity to highlight its longstanding position that Rohingya refugees must be able to make a free and informed decision about relocating to Bhasan Char based upon relevant, accurate and updated information," it said. Bangladesh attempted to start sending refugees back to Myanmar under a bilateral framework last November, but no one was willing to go.

Some leaders took time to recall the 1995 conference, detail domestic initiatives or lament that progress toward female equality is lagging or even retreating. The 1995 work of what was officially called the U.N.'s Fourth World Conference on Women is considered a signal moment in women's rights. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed to his country's 2017 law requiring some employers to provide 26 weeks of paid maternity leave. Still, many leaders, including some female ones, didn't devote much time or detail to women's issues in their speeches. In Norway, the prime minister, the parliament speaker and over 40% of parliamentarians and government ministers are women.

DHAKA Security officials in Bangladesh have arrested the owner of two hospitals that issued thousands of fake coronavirus test reports as he attempted to flee the country to India, officials said Thursday. Shahed is chairman of the Regent Group and owner of two Regent hospitals in the capital, Dhaka. Officials said the hospitals had issued more than 10,000 coronavirus test results and about 60% were fake even though patients were charged for them. The hospitals allegedly arranged for the remaining tests to be conducted by another hospital. Last week, Italy suspended all flights from Bangladesh to Rome after some Bangladeshis reportedly presented fake negative test reports for the coronavirus.

Published: May 25, 2020, 2:53 am Updated: May 25, 2020, 9:02 amIndian Muslims gather for Eid al-Fitr prayers inside their house in New Delhi, India, Monday, May 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)DHAKA Muslims in India and Bangladesh joined prayers to celebrate a subdued Eid-al Fitr on Monday, marking the end of the Ramadan holy month by seeking blessings for a world free from coronavirus. Across India, government leaders and imams appealed to Eid celebrants to follow lockdown norms and maintain social distance. Its been 1,400 years since the Islam religion was founded, ... even our elders could never imagine that we will have to celebrate Eid in such a way, said businessman Shehzad Khan. "That money we have given them so that they too can celebrate Eid with us, Khan said.