Bangladesh, Haiti, Nigeria.
Today's three stories you should know.
Bangladesh
Two of Bangladesh’s top opposition leaders were arrested at their homes in the early hours of the morning, a day before their supporters were due to stage an anti-government march in the capital Dhaka. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the general secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and Mirza Abbas, a former minister and senior leader, were taken away by plainclothes policemen who asked for them by name, the BNP said. The government said it had also arrested 500 BNP supporters after protests erupted ahead of the march. The BNP put the number at 2,000. The opposition is calling for Prime Minister Hasina to step down and call early elections over a cost of living crisis. Elections are due at the end of next year.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Haiti
This is staggering. Almost 60 percent of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince is now controlled by gangs, the UN said today. The country has been careening through a dramatic downward spiral since the still unsolved assassination of President Jovenal Moïse last year. Ulrika Richardson, the UN’s humanitarian chief in the country, said 20,000 people in Port-au-Prince are facing “catastrophic famine-like conditions” as cholera spreads. The government has appealed for international help to get the gangs under control and has even suggested the deployment of foreign armed forces.
More from AP here.
Nigeria
Northwestern Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis has been mentioned in several editions of Proximities. Today, a particularly dramatic incident. The entire family of a local politician - his wife and four children - were kidnapped, according to a BBC report. A gang are reported to have broken into the house of Aminu Yusuf Ardo when he was not at home. Residents said the attackers also kidnapped eight of Ardo’s neighbors. The gangs regularly attack people for ransom, taking them back to their forest hideouts and demanding money from their families. The Nigerian military has recently stepped up operation against the bandits ahead of elections next February.
More from BBC here.