Bangladesh shocked by rise in sex crimes, child rape

An explosion at a building in Bangladesh's capital has killed at least seven people and wounded dozens more. Investigations are still ongoing into the cause of the blast.

At least seven people were killed and another 50 people were injured after a powerful explosion ripped apart a three-storey building in central Dhaka on Sunday, Bangladeshi officials said, citing a gas pipeline as the likely cause. The blast had reduced the building -- which houses a restaurant, an electronics shop and several other stores -- to rubble. Police said the explosion was so forceful that it broke the windows of at least four moving buses, injuring dozens of passengers on board.

Two elephants are led to safety after crossing from Myanmar to Bangladesh, getting stranded on a beach and nearly dying at sea. Dwindling forests straddling southern Bangladesh and western Myanmar are some of the last remaining habitats of endangered Asian elephants.

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At least 52 people were reported dead as a massive blaze broke out in a food processing factory on the outskirts of Dhaka.

When Bangladesh shut down for more than two months last year during its first Covid outbreak, hundreds of charities, civic groups and political parties gave out food, cash, masks and sanitiser to those who had lost their jobs. But coronavirus fatigue has set in and people have become less willing to finance the goodwill as the pandemic drags on.

At least 16 people from a Bangladeshi wedding party have been killed by lightning while disembarking from a boat. Fatal lightning strikes are becoming ever more frequent in the country.

Police say the man was arrested Sunday near Dhaka, but his female dance partner is on the run. The 20-year-old could face up to five years in prison on religious charges.

Rights group Amnesty International said the brutality against women could amount to "war crimes," with hundreds raped in the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region.

Afghan refugees in Indonesia express concerns about the safety of their family members after the Taliban takeover of the country. They demand to be reunited with their relatives from Afghanistan after living in limbo at a shelter in Indonesia for years without certainty.

Islamic fundamentalists in Bangladesh have taken to social media to embrace the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. Experts say Dhaka should be cautious but not overly concerned.

The state is supposed to protect families. But not all children are safe at home. A study shows that children who experience sexual violence at home rarely get help.