DHAKA: Bangladesh has recalled five envoys, including the ambassador to neighboring India, foreign ministry officials said on Thursday, in a major diplomatic reshuffle as the interim government clears out holdovers from the previous administration.
Political upheaval in the South Asian nation ushered in the interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus after weeks of violent protests forced the Aug. 5 resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who then fled to India.
The foreign ministry ordered envoys in Brussels, Canberra, Lisbon, New Delhi and the permanent mission to the United Nations in New York to immediately return to the capital, Dhaka, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“It’s possible the government doesn’t want them to continue, as they were appointed by Hasina’s administration,” said one government official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
“It wouldn’t be surprising if more changes in the diplomatic corps follow.”
The departure of Hasina’s government has triggered a broad administrative overhaul, with hundreds of senior officials being re-assigned or transferred, and the contracts of some key ones terminated, forcing many of them to resign or retire early.
All the recalled diplomats are set to go on post-retirement leave in December, another foreign ministry official said.
“You are requested to leave your current posts and return to Dhaka without delay,” the ministry told the diplomats in its notice, seen by Reuters.
The step follows the recall from Britain of Saida Muna Tasneem, the high commissioner, or ambassador, who was similarly told to return.
A foreign ministry spokesperson made no comment on when the replacements might be announced.
More than 700 people died as a result of the student-led movement that ousted Hasina, straining ties with India. The neighbors have a 4,000-km (2500-mile) border and maritime boundaries in the Bay of Bengal.
Minority groups in Bangladesh have made accusations of attacks on Hindus after the political changes, though the government says the violence was motivated by politics, not religion.
Bangladesh recalls five envoys in major diplomatic reshuffle
https://arab.news/5bz3d
Bangladesh recalls five envoys in major diplomatic reshuffle
- Political upheaval in the South Asian nation ushered in the interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus
- The departure of Sheikh Hasina’s government has triggered a broad administrative overhaul
WHO appeals for $1 bn for world’s worst health crises in 2026
- The UN health agency estimated 239 million people would need urgent humanitarian assistance this year and the money would keep essential health services going
GENEVA: The World Health Organization on Tuesday appealed for $1 billion to tackle health crises this year across the world’s 36 most severe emergencies, including in Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The UN health agency estimated 239 million people would need urgent humanitarian assistance this year and the money would keep essential health services going.
WHO health emergencies chief Chikwe Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva: “A quarter of a billion people are living through humanitarian crises that strip away the most basic protections: safety, shelter and access to health care.
“In these settings, health needs are surging, whether due to injuries, disease outbreaks, malnutrition or untreated chronic diseases,” he warned.
“Yet access to care is shrinking.”
The agency’s emergency request was significantly lower than in recent years, given the global funding crunch for aid operations.
Washington, traditionally the UN health agency’s biggest donor, has slashed foreign aid spending under President Donald Trump, who on his first day back in office in January 2025 handed the WHO his country’s one-year withdrawal notice.
Last year, WHO had appealed for $1.5 billion but Ihekweazu said that only $900 million was ultimately made available.
Unfortunately, he said, the agency had been “recognizing ... that the appetite for resource mobilization is much smaller than it was in previous years.”
“That’s one of the reasons that we’ve calibrated our ask a little bit more toward what is available realistically, understanding the situation around the world, the constraints that many countries have,” he said.
The WHO said in 2026 it was “hyper-prioritising the highest-impact services and scaling back lower?impact activities to maximize lives saved.”
Last year, global funding cuts forced 6,700 health facilities across 22 humanitarian settings to either close or reduce services, “cutting 53 million people off from health care.” Ihekweazu said.
“Families living on the edge face impossible decisions, such as whether to buy food or medicine,” he added, stressing that “people should never have to make these choices.”
“This is why today we are appealing to the better sense of countries, and of people, and asking them to invest in a healthier, safer world.”
