Porimol Palma

Tamim Hossain applied for a US immigrant visa two years ago to reunite with his family -- his wife and two daughters -- who have been living there for more than a decade.

A level playing field for the election is essential, and institutions, including the Election Commission and law enforcement agencies, must not be politicised, European Union Election Observer Mission (EOM) chief Ivars Ijabs has said.

The US wants the speedy repatriation of around 5,000 undocumented Bangladeshis currently living there, as the Trump administration steps up its anti-immigration drive, diplomatic sources said.

Prof Rehman Sobhan recounts the lesser-known diplomatic battle of 1971

The migrants said they had been working at a construction site close to the Thai-Cambodian border but fled the area on December 9 following bombings.

Workers flee border construction site amid bombings; many detained by Cambodian immigration

At the household level, many families still lack access to clean cooking energy.

The criteria Malaysia has set for selecting Bangladeshi recruiting agencies for a fresh round of labour intake have stirred concern among experts, industry insiders, and government officials, who fear the conditions could concentrate power in the hands of a few large agencies.