New Delhi
The claim by Ansar-al Islam — which said it targeted the two men on Monday night because they were “pioneers of practicing and promoting homosexuality” — raised doubts about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s repeated assurances that authorities have the security situation under control.
The victims of the attack were identified as Xulhaz Mannan, an activist who also worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development, and his friend, theater actor Tanay Majumder. Mannan, a cousin of former Foreign Minister Dipu Moni of the governing party, was also an editor of Bangladesh’s first gay rights magazine, Roopbaan. Majumder sometimes helped with the publishing, local media said.
At the White House, Press Secretary Josh Earnest took note of Mannan’s advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender causes and said there were “reports that indicate that he was targeted because of his advocacy for these human rights and that makes his death even more tragic than it seems.” He said the U.S. government had been in touch with the government of Bangladesh to make clear that a thorough criminal investigation should be a priority.
At a funeral for Mannan on Tuesday, his brother said free speech was something Islam should protect.
“A true Muslim will always consider that he has freedom of expression,” Minhaz Mannan Emon said. “We should respect that opinion. We hope… particularly I, on behalf of the family, hope that no other family loses their child or brother like us in the future.”
Juba, South Sudan
A U.N. plane carried Machar from Ethiopia to this South Sudanese capital as part of a power-sharing plan aimed at quelling a war that has raged between Machar’s followers, mostly ethnic Nuer rebels, and ethnic Dinkas loyal to President Salva Kiir. The fighting has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced more than 2 million people, driven parts of South Sudan to the edge of famine and spilled over into neighboring countries.
But it remains unclear whether Machar’s new role will be enough to quiet the unrest fueled by ethnic and tribal rivalries. Another key challenge is rebuilding a shattered economy heavily dependent on oil exports at a time of slumping crude prices.
Under the peace accord reached in August, Kiir and Machar agreed to work together in a unity government and to hold elections within 30 months in the world’s newest nation. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
Smiling and wiping sweat from his brow at the airport, where government and rebel soldiers alike stood guard, Machar called Tuesday for immediate steps to end fighting, stabilize the economy, provide relief to war-affected people and launch a program of national reconciliation.
“I wish that the security situation will be stabilized in the shortest possible time now that we’re just about to form the transitional government of national unity,” Machar said later after being sworn in at the presidential palace.
Tokyo
The company also was told by U.S. environmental regulators that it must do additional testing to verify gas mileage on the models it sells in the country.
President Tetsuro Aikawa told reporters Tuesday the probe was ongoing, suggesting that more irregularities might be found. Aikawa said so much was unknown that it’s uncertain what action the company will take. He said he didn’t know why employees resorted to such tactics to make mileage look better.
Late Tuesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it has told Mitsubishi to do more real world tests for all models it sells in the country. But the agency would not say if it suspects Mitsubishi of cheating here, or whether the agency is doing its own tests.
Mitsubishi sells five models in the U.S. including three cars and two SUVs. Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Motors had repeatedly promised to come clean after a massive scandal 15 years ago involving a systematic cover-up of auto defects.
The inaccurate mileage tests involved 157,000 of its eK wagon and eK Space light passenger cars, and 468,000 Dayz and Dayz Roox vehicles produced for Nissan Motor Co.
— Wire reports