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2 hours ago
- Politics
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Mad with power and vengeance, Yunus risks taking Bangladesh down with him
Yunus has thrown up too many balls in the air, and it remains to be seen if he is a wizard to pull it off, or n usurper who risks taking Bangladesh down with him read more As India grapples with the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, a sordid drama is playing out next door. An unelected regime, backstopped by the military, Islamists, war criminals and revisionist 'student revolutionaries', wants to turn Bangladesh into another Pakistan – a jihadi hellhole, an economic basket case and a rentier state that dreams of breaking India and plans to suck on Chinese and American teats. This radical shift is being driven by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel laureate heading an 'interim government' as the chief adviser. Yunus, a crafty, vengeful man, thinks he is playing 128D chess. He is writing blank cheques he cannot encash. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It has been nine months that this illegitimate regime has been in power, nine turbulent months following Sheikh Hasina's orchestrated ouster during which Yunus has overseen Bangladesh's rapid economic descent, freeing of 1971 war criminals, a surge in Islamist radicalism, unhinged vendetta politics, hounding of Hindu minorities and sweeping foreign policy changes without the requisite democratic mandate. When he flew in from the United States to assume power in August last year, Yunus had promised to 'restore Bangladesh's democracy' through 'free and fair elections'. He is 'restoring democracy' by banning Awami League, Bangladesh's largest political party, one that is synonymous to the country's independence, and by delaying elections. Not surprisingly, Yunus has run into a collision course with the BNP, the only major party left in Bangladesh's political scene that fancies a return to power. The 'chief adviser', though, has other plans. For the head of a military-backed regime, Yunus has even made an enemy of the army chief because General Waker-Uz-Zaman has called for early elections and come out swinging against Yunus's moves to take key decisions keeping the military in the dark, such as constructing a 'humanitarian corridor' linking Chittagong to the restive Rakhine province in Myanmar where the military junta is fighting a civil war. Bangladesh is witnessing an intriguing power tussle and attempts at palace coup and counter coup. Yunus is evidently keen to control all the levers of power and enjoy unchallenged writ. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD His hunger for power shouldn't have come as a surprise to Bangladesh watchers. US diplomatic cables leaked by Wikileaks reveal that the Americans knew at least since 2007 that Yunus possesses 'a strong desire to jump into the maelstrom of Bangladeshi politics.' One cable, dated 13 February, mentions that 'Yunus is considering entering Bangladesh politics' and that 'he was reviewing his options'. The cable discloses that Americans felt Yunus is 'a person of great moral stature and strong organizational skills,' and his 'candidacy could offer a possible out from the present Sheikh Hasina-Khaleda Zia zero-sum game that cripples Bangladesh's democratic process.' The Americans have always considered Yunus as 'their man', something India had a very good idea about. Another leaked cable marked 'confidential' and dated December 2006, reveals what the South Block was thinking about the 2007 elections when the Americans wanted 'neither Hasina, nor Zia to win' and were 'actively supporting Yunus', for whom the Americans had 'fixed' the Nobel Prize. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This dynamic between Yunus, whose status as America's pet poodle has always been known, and the US, is key to understanding the great game unfolding in India's neighbourhood. In his brief tenure, Yunus has already savaged Bangladesh's close strategic, diplomatic and commercial ties with India, warmed up to Pakistan, hitched Dhaka's boat to Beijing and kowtowed to the US. Much against the wishes of Bangladesh's mainstream political class and even the military, Yunus is positioning Bangladesh as a mule for America's proxy war against China in war-torn Myanmar – jettisoning the careful balance of power strategy that former prime minister Hasina used as a foundation to script Bangladesh's rise. The worst part is Yunus's authoritarian impulses and reckless steps are destabilising a region strategically sensitive for India, apart from making life difficult for ordinary Bangladeshis. In his effort to cling on to power, the scheming Yunus alternates between habitual India-bashing and divisive agendas to keep rivals off tack. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In causing diplomatic friction with India, authoring wholesale pivot to China, and calling for a more robust American involvement in the region, Yunus is redrawing the strategic underpinnings of Bangladesh's foreign policy, initiating transformative changes without Parliamentary backing or democratic buy-in when as the head of a caretaker government all he needs to do is ensure political, social and economic stability to ensure free, fair and inclusive elections. This fundamental mismatch between Yunus's self-image as a 'saviour' of Bangladesh, his vaulting ambition, strong desire to wield power (refer to the US diplomatic cables) and the military and the BNP's assumption of the chief adviser's limited role, lies at the heart of Bangladesh's 'war like' situation that Yunus blames India for. This turmoil couldn't have come at a worse time. Bangladesh is struggling. Growth has stuttered to 3.97%, the slowest in 34 years. The economy is battered with industry shutdowns, high inflation, unemployment, falling wages and steep price rise, potentially putting millions at risk of falling into extreme poverty. Foreign investors are staying away. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD IANS quotes data from Bangladesh's central bank to report that Dhaka's flow of FDI fell to $104.33 million in the July-September quarter of 2024-25 fiscal, the lowest in six years, and the country received 71% less foreign investment year-on-year, down from $360.5 million in the July-September period of FY24. The flagship garment sector that plays a significant role in Bangladesh's economy, contributes handsomely to the GDP and employment is besieged with problems. According to a report published last December, in one year '140 factories across various sectors have ceased operations, including 76 in garments, 50 in knitwear, and 14 in textiles. This has led to the loss of approximately 94,000 jobs, with the Beximco Group alone laying off around 40,000 workers from its 15 garment factories. In total, closures have left 134,000 workers unemployed amid the shuttering of 155 factories.' Trump's punishing tariffs on Bangladesh resulting in a halt in orders from America and import restrictions from India have further hit the sector's profitability. Things are so bad that General Waker, during the recent high-level gathering of military commanders at Dhaka Cantonment that generated a lot of media heat, reportedly said, 'garment factories are shutting down one after another, and no one seems concerned. This silence is dangerous.' A clear barb at Yunus. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The 'chief adviser' remains unfazed. He is focused more on ideological agendas such as freeing hardcore war criminals like Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam, a death row convict accused of killing 1,256 people, abducting 17, and raping 13 women during the 1971 Liberation War, apart from torturing civilians and setting fire to hundreds of houses. Islam was handed a death sentence in 2014. The Appellate Division of Bangladesh's top court upheld the death sentence five years later. Under the Yunus regime, the same Supreme Court on 27 May scrapped its earlier judgement – a first in history – that upheld the conviction and death sentence and ordered 'immediate release' of Islam, a pointer to how Jamaat is holding the Yunus regime to ransom. In a measure of the distance Bangladesh has travelled under a vindictive, unelected regime, the Bangladesh Supreme Court led by its chief justice on Sunday ordered the Election Commission to restore the registration of Jamaat, the right-wing jihadi outfit that was banned by the Hasina government under anti-terrorism law for its role in violent protests and historical opposition to Bangladesh's independence. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Jamaat, that played a key role in the genocide of Hindus and Bengali-speaking Muslims during the 1971 war alongside the Pakistani army, will now be able to contest in future elections whereas former prime minister Hasina has been charged with 'crimes against humanity', and 'the chief instigator behind the violent crackdown that unfolded during the July and August unrest.' It speaks volumes of Bangladesh's trajectory under Yunus that the banned Awami League will not be allowed to contest elections while Yunus's attack dogs, Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir go about persecuting ethnic and religious minorities and altering the secular character of Bangladesh's Constitution. In the zero-sum game of Bangladesh's exclusionary politics, the pendulum will keep swinging from one extreme to the other. Yunus, who is crossing swords with the army chief and wants to replace him with a more pliant man, will soon figure out that he cannot run the country through palace intrigue, mob violence and revenge politics, and by seeking to decouple from India. Yunus is courting China on the one hand, giving it access to Lalmonirhat airfield, close to India's Siliguri Corridor (Chicken's Neck), giving Beijing opportunities to expand strategic influence through Teesta River management project in exchange for China's help in making Bangladesh a manufacturing hub, on the other hand he is embarking on a risky pirouette by giving the US a route to back the Arakan Army rebels in Myanmar's Rakhine state through the so-called 'humanitarian corridor' that Bangladesh's army chief went ballistic about. Since China is seen to be backing Myanmar's military junta, the US sees a chance to lodger proxy war against the Chinese in Myanmar, and Yunus risks making Bangladesh a pawn to the great power game. Yunus has thrown up too many balls in the air, and it remains to be seen if he is a wizard to pull it off, or n usurper who risks taking Bangladesh down with him.
Gulf Today
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
Highlights from Cannes as film festival wraps up
As the Cannes film festival hands out its prizes, AFP looks back at some of the highlights of a politically charged fortnight of screenings and celebrity sightings. The festival began on May 13 with a flap about a new dress code which states that extravagantly large dresses are prohibited on the red carpet, as well as 'total nudity'. Oscar-winner Halle Berry was the first victim, with the 'Monster's Ball' star forced into a wardrobe change for the opening ceremony because her dress was too long. Although many people seemed to flout the guidelines, Indian model and influencer Snigdha Baruah was forced to remove a flowing train from her dress having been barred by security at the VIP entrance. Not content to let the dresses steal all the limelight, 'Succession' star and jury member Jeremy Strong has brought some eye-catching menswear in bold colours to the Riviera. US actress and member of the jury of the 78th cannes film festival Halle Berry arrives on stage during the closing ceremony at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on Saturday. AFP After years of scandals in the film industry and pressure to take a stand, the festival announced a new #MeToo policy by barring an actor in a prominent French film from the red carpet because of rape allegations. Theo Navarro-Mussy, who appears in 'Dossier 137', denies the allegations and an initial police investigation was closed last month. This year's gathering on the Riviera marked a step in the rehabilitation of scandal-plagued star Kevin Spacey, however, who accepted a lifetime achievement award at a charity gala. Australian legend Nicole Kidman meanwhile issued a plea for more women directors, saying their number was still 'incredibly low'. Only three women have ever won a Palme d'Or. A trio of actors made their highly anticipated directorial debuts, with differing fortunes. 'Babygirl' actor Harris Dickinson, 28, and 'Twilight' star Kristen Stewart, 35, left Cannes with praise ringing in their ears for their films, 'Urchin' and 'The Chronology of Water'. Reviews for Scarlett Johansson's first turn behind the camera, 'Eleanor the Great', would have made for more difficult reading, however. There was no escaping the war in Gaza this year. Hundreds of film figures signed an open letter on the eve of the festival calling on the movie industry to call out 'genocide'. Iranian film maker Sepideh Farsi's heart-wrenching documentary about slain Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, killed in an Israeli air strike on her home in Gaza last month, left its audience in stunned silence when it premiered on May 15. Scarlett Johansson poses for a portrait at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, on Wednesday. AP Wikileaks founder Julian Assange walked the red carpet wearing a T-shirt bearing the names of killed Gaza children as he promoted a documentary about his own life. US President Donald Trump was also focusing minds, particularly in the Cannes film market where the deals are cut for new projects. Trump's pledge to implement 100-per cent tariffs on movies 'produced in foreign lands' provoked a mixture of horror, disbelief and mockery from industry insiders. 'I can't find myself taking it very seriously. It's just too surreal,' American director Wes Anderson told AFP. 'Taxi Driver' star Robert De Niro slammed 'America's philistine president' in his opening ceremony speech. Tom Cruise swept into Cannes on a steamroller of hype around 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning' which premiered to mixed reviews in the first week. Director Christopher McQuarrie revealed that Cruise — who does his own stunts — took his risk-taking a little far during a shoot in South Africa and could have died. Tom Cruise. 'He was laying on the wing of the plane. His arms were hanging over the front of the wing. We could not tell if he was conscious or not,' said the US filmmaker. Saturday's closing ceremony was the final act of a drama-filled day that saw Cannes suffer a more than five-hour power cut. Local authorities blamed suspected sabotage at a nearby electricity substation and a pylon. The reaction of French emergency services was also one of the biggest talking points among attendees this year after a man was knocked down by a falling palm tree in a freak accident during the first week. Agence France-Presse
Gulf Today
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
French actress Catherine Deneuve joins over 900 stars in signing petition denouncing Gaza genocide
France's Catherine Deneuve has joined over 900 cinema figures who have signed an open letter denouncing alleged "genocide" in Gaza and the movie industry's failure to speak up about it, organisers told the media on Friday. The petition began circulating during the buildup to the Cannes film festival and had garnered around 380 names including "Schindler's List" star Ralph Fiennes when the event kicked off on May 13. An update issued by organisers on Friday included more than 900 names, including Deneuve, British director Danny Boyle and Swedish actor Gustaf Skarsgard. The initiative, called "Artists for Fatem", was sparked by the killing of Palestinian photojournalist Fatima ("Fatem") Hassouna, who was the subject of a documentary that premiered at Cannes week. Hassouna, 25, was killed in an Israeli air strike along with 10 relatives in her family home in northern Gaza last month, the day after the documentary was announced as part of the ACID Cannes selection. Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Friday. Reuters "As artists and cultural players, we cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza and this unspeakable news is hitting our communities hard," the open letter says. Other signatories include Juliette Binoche, who is chairing the jury at Cannes, Rooney Mara, Jonathan Glazer, US indie director Jim Jarmusch, "Lupin" star Omar Sy, Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Pedro Almodovar and Mark Ruffalo. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is in Cannes to promote a documentary about his life, has also signed the letter, organisers said Friday. He posed for photographers on Tuesday with a T-shirt bearing the names of killed Gaza children. On Thursday, Gaza's health ministry said at least 3,613 people had been killed in the territory since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,762, mostly civilians. Hamas's October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Agence France-Presse
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Imago' Wins L'Oeil d'Or Prize For Top Documentary At Cannes; Julian Assange Film Wins Special Jury Prize For l'Oeil d'Or 10th Anniversary
Imago, a documentary by Chechen-born filmmaker Déni Oumar Pitsaev, won the L'Oeil d'or prize today, the top award for nonfiction film at the Cannes Film Festival. But it wasn't the only award presented by the jury. The Six Billion Dollar Man, director Eugene Jarecki's film about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, won a Special Jury Prize marking the 10th anniversary of the L'Oeil d'or prize. Both directors were on hand for the announcement at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. More from Deadline Thailand's Engfa Waraha & Dream Thanika Jenjesda Want 'Lady Bee' To Re-Define The Female Gaze In Thai Filmmaking - Cannes Studio Cannes Film Festival 2025: Read All Of Deadline's Movie Reviews Bi Gan's 'Resurrection' Hits Cannes With 7-Minute Ovation At World Premiere 'I didn't expect at all,' Pitsaev told Deadline after receiving the award. He said it might prove challenging to get the metal Golden Eye trophy through airport security. 'I hope they will not see it as a weapon. I mean, you can hurt someone with that.' Assange joined Jarecki at today's announcement. He has been a free man for only a year, after reaching a deal with U.S. authorities that saw him plead guilty to a single count of violating the Espionage Act. Assange appeared to become emotional as he spoke at the L'Oeil d'or ceremony. He said his last previous public comment was made at the Parliamentary Assembly of Europe, which declared him to have been persecuted as a political prisoner. 'Now is a time of great erosion of norms, coming from the conflict in Ukraine,' he said, 'and especially from the assault on the people in Gaza, the massacre of people in Gaza and also in the West Bank.' He suggested the U.S. was absent in terms of supporting human rights and that Europe needed to fill the void. 'There doesn't appear to be any other grouping of countries or major power on the only planet we live in that will stand, will fight for those norms that we all realized were important after all.' Jarecki told Deadline he viewed the awarding of the L'Oeil d'or Special Jury Prize to his film as consistent with a politically firm stand taken by the festival. 'I do think this is a seismic development within the Cannes Film Festival, my movie aside,' he noted. 'Just the fact that you can feel the festival leaning into documentary much more than ever before, leaning into the serious issues that are flying around the world right now. If you look at what showed at the festival this year, the dedication of the festival to Fatima [Hassouna, a Palestinian photojournalist killed in Gaza], there's extremely important stuff going on. And I think the way the psyche of the festival has shifted, we need that… We need more and more people to step up and get concerned and get engaged. And I came here not knowing what to expect of that, of how a festival of poetry and fantasy and romance would be dealing with a modern era where we all have such grave concerns and they're leaning into it.' Pitsaev's film earlier won the Jury Prize at Critics Week, the Cannes sidebar. His film is set in a remote area of Georgia, a few kilometers from the border with Chechnya. 'When Déni inherits a small patch of land in the wild, beautiful valley of Pankissi, he sees a chance to finally build the house in the trees that he's dreamed of since he was a boy,' reads a synopsis of the film. 'But nothing in the rugged Caucasus is ever simple. Returning to a village just across the Chechen border where he was born – a place he barely knows – Déni stirs up old feuds, buried family dramas, and above all, the question everyone keeps asking: when, and with whom, is he finally going to get married?' In an interview in Cannes on Thursday, Pitsaev told us he came to Cannes not knowing how the film would be received. 'For the premiere, I felt a little bit naked in front of the public,' Pitsaev commented. 'It's so intimate. And when I was doing the film and especially in editing, it was difficult for me to watch myself and [decide] what to take out, what not to put in a film.' The L'Oeil d'or prize comes with a €5,000 award. Eligible films can premiere in Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, Midnight Screenings and Special Screenings, Directors' Fortnight, Critics' Week, or the ACID sidebar. Julie Gayet, French actress and producer, served as Jury President for the L'Oeil d'or prize. Her fellow jurors included Chilean filmmaker Carmen Castillo; Frédéric Maire, Swiss director of the Cinémathèque suisse; Juliette Favreul Renaud, French producer, and Marc Zinga, a Congolese-Belgian actor. The L'Oeil d'or is a relatively new award in the Cannes pantheon, added only in 2015. It was created by SCAM, France's Société Civile des Auteurs Multimédia. Previous winners of the award include documentaries that went on to earn Oscar nominations: Four Daughters, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania; Faces Places, directed by Agnès Varda and JR; For Sama, directed by Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts, and All That Breathes, directed by Shaunak Sen. Best of Deadline 'The Last of Us' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? 'The Last Of Us': Differences Between HBO Series & Video Game Across Seasons 1 And 2 Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds
Int'l Business Times
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Int'l Business Times
Highlights From Cannes As Film Festival Wraps Up
As the Cannes film festival hands out its prizes, AFP looks back at some of the highlights of a politically charged fortnight of screenings and celebrity sightings. The festival began on May 13 with a flap about a new dress code which states that extravagantly large dresses are prohibited on the red carpet, as well as "total nudity". Oscar-winner Halle Berry was the first victim, with the "Monster's Ball" star forced into a wardrobe change for the opening ceremony because her dress was too long. Although many people seemed to flout the guidelines, Indian model and influencer Snigdha Baruah was forced to remove a flowing train from her dress having been barred by security at the VIP entrance. Not content to let the dresses steal all the limelight, "Succession" star and jury member Jeremy Strong has brought some eye-catching menswear in bold colours to the Riviera. After years of scandals in the film industry and pressure to take a stand, the festival announced a new #MeToo policy by barring an actor in a prominent French film from the red carpet because of rape allegations. Theo Navarro-Mussy, who appears in "Dossier 137", denies the allegations and an initial police investigation was closed last month. This year's gathering on the Riviera marked a step in the rehabilitation of scandal-plagued star Kevin Spacey, however, who accepted a lifetime achievement award at a charity gala. Australian legend Nicole Kidman meanwhile issued a plea for more women directors, saying their number was still "incredibly low". Only three women have ever won a Palme d'Or. A trio of actors made their highly anticipated directorial debuts, with differing fortunes. "Babygirl" actor Harris Dickinson, 28, and "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart, 35, left Cannes with praise ringing in their ears for their films, "Urchin" and "The Chronology of Water". Reviews for Scarlett Johansson's first turn behind the camera, "Eleanor the Great", would have made for more difficult reading, however. There was no escaping the war in Gaza this year. Hundreds of film figures signed an open letter on the eve of the festival calling on the movie industry to call out "genocide". Iranian film maker Sepideh Farsi's heart-wrenching documentary about slain Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, killed in an Israeli air strike on her home in Gaza last month, left its audience in stunned silence when it premiered on May 15. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange walked the red carpet wearing a T-shirt bearing the names of killed Gaza children as he promoted a documentary about his own life. Amid the champagne and air kisses, US President Donald Trump was also focusing minds, particularly in the Cannes film market where the deals are cut for new projects. Trump's pledge to implement 100-percent tariffs on movies "produced in foreign lands" provoked a mixture of horror, disbelief and mockery from industry insiders. "I can't find myself taking it very seriously. It's just too surreal," American director Wes Anderson told AFP. "Taxi Driver" star Robert De Niro slammed "America's philistine president" in his opening ceremony speech. Tom Cruise swept into Cannes on a steamroller of hype around "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" which premiered to mixed reviews in the first week. Director Christopher McQuarrie revealed that Cruise -- who does his own stunts -- took his risk-taking a little far during a shoot in South Africa and could have died. "He was laying on the wing of the plane. His arms were hanging over the front of the wing. We could not tell if he was conscious or not," said the US filmmaker. Saturday's closing ceremony was the final act of a drama-filled day that saw Cannes suffer a more than five-hour power cut. Local authorities blamed suspected sabotage at a nearby electricity substation and a pylon. The reaction of French emergency services was also one of the biggest talking points among attendees this year after a man was knocked down by a falling palm tree in a freak accident during the first week. He was whisked to hospital and discharged several days later to return home. US actor Robert De Niro (R) received the Honorary Palme d'Or from US actor Leonardo DiCaprio AFP McQuarrie said the crew feared Cruise (left) had passed out during one stunt on a biplane AFP Kevin Spacey is 'glad to be back working' AFP Halle Berry was among the stars on the red carpet AFP Scarlett Johansson poses with actress June Squibb who plays the lead role in 'Eleanor the Great' AFP At the screening of Wes Anderson's "The Phoenician Scheme" on May 18, 2025. AFP
