Tears and anger in Bangladesh two years after Rana Plaza disaster

Two years after the deadliest industrial catastrophe in Bangladesh’s history, survivors of the Rana Plaza disaster gathered Friday to protest against poor compensation and failure to improve conditions in the country’s factories.

About 2,000 survivors, some on crutches, and families of victims held hands in a show of solidarity at the ruins of the factory complex which imploded in 2013, claiming more than 1,100 lives.

From early morning, the crowd, many clutching photos of loved ones, gathered at a makeshift memorial at the site to protest a range of concerns including poor factory safety standards and a lack of compensation.

"I only got one million taka ($12,900) from the prime minister's fund, but nothing from the trust fund created to help the victims," said Rehana Akhter, whose leg was amputated after she become trapped under tonnes of debris.

The trust fund was set up by retailers and labour groups in the wake of the tragedy.

"I can't work now. I need expensive medicines and I have a family to look after," the 24-year-old told AFP, supporting herself with a crutch, at the site in Savar outside the capital Dhaka.

Pressure on Western retailers

The collapse triggered international outrage and put pressure on European and US brands who had placed orders at the nine-storey complex to improve the woeful pay and conditions at Bangladesh's 4,500 garment factories.

Western retailers linked to the disaster include Spanish brand Mango, Italian brand Benetton, British retailer Primark and French retailer Auchan.

Two years on, nearly $25 million in compensation has been paid out to survivors and relatives of the dead.

Many wept openly as they placed flowers and wreaths at the memorial and some sat silently on the rubble, but others angrily shouted slogans against Western retailers.

"We had high hopes that the Rana Plaza collapse would be a wake-up call for the government and the retailers," union leader Taslim Akhter told AFP.

"Two years on, many factories are far from safe. We have had several deadly factory fires since Rana Plaza. Millions of workers still don't have enough labour rights," Akhter, who leads the Bangladesh Garment Workers Solidarity, said.

Some 2,500 factories have been inspected since the tragedy, but global labour group IndustriALL said on the eve of the anniversary that safety upgrades were running behind schedule and none were considered "100 percent safe".

‘I want to know where my daughter is buried’

For others, the anniversary was a chance to protest against a failure to find some 135 workers, presumed killed in the disaster, but whose bodies have never been recovered.

"I want to know where my daughter is buried. For two years I've been asking this question but nobody has any answer," said Jaheda Begum, 55, holding a photograph of her 35-year-old daughter Saleha Begum.

The sporadic discovery of remains has fuelled the anger of relatives who say authorities were too quick to send in the bulldozers to shovel up most of the debris.

By the time the three-week rescue operation ended, a total of 1,129 bodies had been recovered.

Bangladesh's garment industry, the world's second largest after China, has bounced back since the tragedy, with shipments last year standing at $25 billion.

Nepal quake toll 'could reach 10,000', says PM

The death toll in Nepal’s earthquake could reach 10,000, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala told Reuters on Tuesday, ordering intensified rescue efforts and appealing for foreign supplies of tents and medicines.

“The government is doing all it can for rescue and relief on a war footing,” Koirala said in an interview. “It is a challenge and a very difficult hour for Nepal.”

A home ministry official put the latest death toll at 4,349. If the death toll does reach 10,000, that would be even higher than the 8,500 killed in a massive 1934 quake, the Himalayan nation’s worst disaster to date.

Koirala was abroad when the 7.9 magnitude quake struck on Saturday. He returned on Sunday. He has issued orders to his government to improve coordination of the relief effort and will address the nation later on Tuesday, an aide said.

Appealing for foreign assistance, Koirala said Nepal needed tents and medicines. Many people are sleeping out of doors because their homes have been destroyed or may not withstand the dozens of aftershocks that have hit the country, he said.

“The government needs tents, much medicine. People are sleeping in fields and rains,” he said. “There are more than 7,000 people injured. Their treatment and rehabilitation is going to be a big challenge.”

More than 1,000 killed in Nepal quake

A 7.9-magnitude earthquake killed more than 1,300 people on Saturday, Nepalese authorities said, with tremors felt as far as New Delhi. The quake toppled a famed 19th-century tower in Kathmandu and triggered a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest.

The death toll surpassed 1,341 late on Saturday, a Nepalese police spokesman said, and is expected to rise further. Half of the casualties were in the Kathmandu Valley, but little information was immediately available from outlying areas of the mountainous country.

The quake triggered an avalanche at a base camp on Mount Everest, killing at least 10 people.

The worst quake to hit the impoverished Himalayan nation in more than 80 years was relatively shallow, which intensified the damage at the surface.

"Hundreds of people are feared dead and there are reports of widespread damage to property. The devastation is not confined to some areas of Nepal. Almost the entire country has been hit," said Krishna Prasad Dhakal, deputy chief of mission at Nepal’s embassy in New Delhi.

"We are totally cut off from most parts of our country," said Ram Narayan Pandey of the Nepal Disaster Management Authority, who was coordinating relief efforts from Kathmandu.

Another 36 fatalities were reported in northern India, 12 in Chinese Tibet and four people were killed in Bangladesh.

India was the first to respond to calls for foreign aid, sending military aircraft along with medical equipment and relief teams. The United States will send a disaster response team and has authorised an initial $1 million to address immediate aid needs, the US Agency for International Development said. An Israeli army statement announced that a military delegation of "medical, search-and-rescue, logistics and population assistance professionals" was due to fly out at midnight.

Tower toppled

A 19th-century tower collapsed in Kathmandu when the quake struck shortly before noon local time, with local media reporting that at least 50 people had been trapped there.

The Dharara Tower, built in 1832, was a landmark that had been open to visitors for the last 10 years and had a viewing balcony.

A stump just 10 metres (33 feet) high was all that was left of the 14-storey structure. Several bodies were brought away from the ruins.

At the main hospital in Kathmandu, people with broken limbs and arms were being rushed in for treatment. "There are people everyone where in the corridors and out in the field," said a Reuters reporter.

Television news footage showed people being treated on the streets outside hospitals and several bodies lying in rows, covered in blankets.

Kathmandu is home to ancient wooden Hindu temples. Photographs posted online showed buildings reduced to rubble, with large cracks along roads and residents sitting in the street holding babies.

Everest avalanche

The quake triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, according to climbers there, raising fears for those on the world’s highest peak a year after a massive snowslide caused the deadliest incident on the world’s highest mountain.

Romanian climber Alex Gavan said on Twitter that there had been a "huge avalanche" and "many, many" people were up on the mountain. "Running for life from my tent," Gavan said. "Everest base camp huge earthquake then huge avalanche."

Another climber, Daniel Mazur, said Everest base camp had been "severely damaged" and his team was trapped. "Please pray for everyone," he said on his Twitter page.

An avalanche in April 2014 just above the base camp on Mount Everest killed 16 Nepali guides. April is one of the most popular times to climb Everest before rain and clouds cloak the mountain at the end of next month.

The quake was the worst to hit the region in more than eight decades, since an 8.3-magnitude quake killed more than 8,500 Nepalese in 1934.

Far and wide

Tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi and other northern cities in India, with reports that they had lasted up to a minute.

"Massive tremors have been felt here in Delhi and several other parts of India," said a newsreader on NDTV in Delhi.

"You can see pictures of our Delhi studios, where the windows rattled and everything shook for a very long time, for a minute perhaps or longer," she said as footage showed studio ceiling camera lights shaking.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake, initially measured at 7.7 but upgraded to 7.9, struck 80 km (50 miles) east of Pokhara. It was only 2 km deep.

"We are in the process of finding more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home and in Nepal," tweeted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He convened a high-level meeting with ministers and top officials to assess the situation. There were no preliminary reports of damage anywhere in India, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Press Trust of India.

Iran peace plan to UN says 'senseless' air strikes must stop

Iran’s foreign minister on Friday submitted a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon outlining a four-point peace plan for Yemen, where Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have been targeted for weeks by Saudi-led air strikes.

The plan, which Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced in Pakistan earlier this month, calls for an immediate ceasefire and end of all foreign military attacks, humanitarian assistance, a resumption of broad national dialogue and “establishment of an inclusive national unity government.”

“It is imperative for the international community to get more effectively involved in ending the senseless aerial attacks and establishing a ceasefire, ensuring delivery of humanitarian and medical assistance to the people of Yemen and restoring peace and stability to this country through dialogue and national reconciliation without pre-conditions,” said Zarif’s letter, which was obtained by Reuters.

Russia opens way for air defense deliveries to Iran

President Vladimir Putin opened the way Monday for Russia's delivery of a sophisticated air-defense missile system to Iran, a move that would significantly bolster the Islamic Republic's military capability.

Russia signed the $800 million contract to sell Iran the S-300 missile system in 2007, but suspended delivery three years later because of strong objections from the United States and Israel. Putin lifted that ban.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry over the phone Monday to discuss Iran-related issues, the situation in Syria, Yemen and other issues, the Foreign Ministry said.

Speaking in a televised statement, Lavrov said that a preliminary agreement on settling the Iranian nuclear standoff reached earlier this month made the 2010 Russian ban unnecessary.

Timing of sanctions relief a major issue as Iran talks resume

The timing and scope of sanctions relief are major sticking points in talks between Iran and the six major world powers kicking off in Vienna on Wednesday as negotiators try to agree on curbing Tehran's nuclear activities.

After deliberations in Switzerland on April 2 between Iran and the six powers produced a mutual understanding on a framework to conclude a nuclear deal by June 30, different interpretations have emerged over what was agreed and both sides have given different versions of the timing underpinning a final deal.

"Lifting sanctions will be one of the main topics in this round of talks … If the other party shows political good will, we can reach a final agreement," Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi told Iranian state TV on Wednesday.

Talks on Wednesday began with European Union political director Helga Schmid and Araqchi. Negotiations between Iran and the six powers, including U.S. under secretary Wendy Sherman, will follow later in the week.

Iran nuclear talks push past deadline, 'key aspects' agreed

Nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers went past a self-imposed deadline and into overtime on Wednesday as negotiators edged toward a deal but failed to agree on crucial details such as the lifting of UN sanctions.

The negotiators ended talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne in the early hours of Wednesday and said they would reconvene later in the day, with Iran and Russia expressing optimism that an initial agreement was within reach.

The preliminary deal is a major milestone toward a final accord, with an end-June deadline, that could end the 12-year-old standoff and reduce the risk of another Middle East war.

With Iran asserting its “nuclear rights” and the United States threatening on Tuesday to abandon the negotiations, the talks have been bogged down on the issues of nuclear research, the lifting of U.N. sanctions and their restoration if Iran breaches the agreement.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said negotiators had reached a general accord on “all key aspects”, according to Russia’s TASS news agency, while his Iranian counterpart said a draft agreement could be prepared on Wednesday. But a diplomat close to the talks denied that such an agreement had been reached, and a French official said Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was leaving the talks and would return from France when it was “useful”.

It was not clear whether Fabius’ departure was a sign of a major problem in the talks.

The six powers – the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China – aim to stop Iran from gaining the capacity to develop a nuclear bomb in exchange for easing international sanctions that are crippling its economy.

Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful. The U.S. administration of President Barack Obama had committed to meeting a March 31 deadline for the outline political accord.

Negotiators have a tentative agreement on the rough outline of a possible public statement on the progress they have made so far that would also highlight areas of disagreement, diplomats close to the talks said. But they have not agreed on all the key details central to a political framework that would form the basis of a future nuclear agreement, the diplomats said.

Parts of any understanding reached by the parties will likely remain confidential for the foreseeable future. Failure to agree a detailed preliminary accord would add to skepticism in the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress over an emerging deal. Congress has warned it will consider imposing new sanctions on Iran if there is no agreement this week, giving an added sense of urgency to the talks.

A Democrat, Obama has threatened to veto any sanctions moves by the Republican-controlled Congress.

Russia says key details agreed

Officials cautioned that any accord would be fragile and incomplete, but the U.S. State Department gave the go-ahead for talks to go past a self-imposed midnight deadline. Lavrov was quoted by TASS as saying that the possible agreement included the International Atomic Energy Agency’s control over Tehran’s nuclear programme as well as steps to lift sanctions. He added experts would work out technical details by end-June.

“One can say with enough confidence that (foreign) ministers have reached a general agreement on all key aspects of a final settlement to this issue,” he said. “It will be put down in writing over the next few hours, maybe during the day.” The State Department said earlier in a statement that while enough progress had been made to extend the talks into Wednesday, “there are several difficult issues still remaining.”

A senior Iranian negotiator said Tehran was willing to negotiate until the deadlock was resolved. “Iran does not want a nuclear deal just for the sake of having a deal, and a final deal should guarantee the Iranian nation’s nuclear rights,” the negotiator, Hamid Baidinejad, told reporters.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in Washington that U.S. negotiators would not wait until June 30 to walk away from the talks if they could not reach a preliminary political agreement.

“If we’re not able to reach a political agreement, then we’re not going to wait ... until June 30 to walk away,” he said.

Speaking in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande said it would be better to have no deal than a bad deal.

An agreement would almost certainly lift sanctions only in stages, deferring even a partial return of Iranian crude exports until at least 2016.

Sanctions have halved Iran’s oil exports to just over 1 million barrels per day since 2012 when oil and financial sanctions hit Iran. Brent crude dropped towards $55 a barrel on Tuesday as negotiations proceeded.

Sticking points

Officials from both sides said the main sticking points were the removal of the U.N. sanctions, their reversibility and Iranian demands for the right to unfettered research and development into advanced nuclear centrifuges after the first 10 years of the agreement expires.

Officials said Iran was still demanding the lifting of all U.N. sanctions and that they not be automatically reinstated without further negotiations. Officials have said Britain, France and the United States want any removal of U.N. sanctions to be automatically reversible, but the Russians dislike this because it would weaken their veto power over the deal.

The six powers want more than a 10-year suspension of Iran’s most sensitive nuclear work. Their goal is to find a way to ensure that for at least the next 10 years Iran is at least one year away from being able to produce enough fissile material for an atomic weapon.

Iran said the main issue was lifting sanctions quickly. “There will be no agreement if the sanctions issue cannot be resolved,” Majid Takhteravanchi, an Iranian negotiator, told Iran’s Pars news agency.

In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s concern that an agreement would fall short of guaranteeing its safety.

The framework agreement would leave Iran with the capability to develop a nuclear weapon in under a year, said Netanyahu, whose country is believed to have the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal.

Iran deadline extended as nuclear talks 'near finishing line'

Nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers were extended into Thursday as negotiators edged towards agreement but failed to finalise crucial details, such as how to lift UN sanctions and whether to reinstate them if Iran reneges on a deal.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said late on Wednesday that Iran still had to make more effort to reach a preliminary political accord, but Tehran and the six powers were in the final and most difficult stages.

“We are a few metres from the finishing line, but it’s always the last metres that are the most difficult. We will try to cross them,” Fabius said on his return to the talks in Lausanne.

“It’s not done yet. We want a robust and verifiable agreement and there are still points where there needs to be progress especially on the Iranian side,” he said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry postponed his departure from the talks for a second time and will remain through Thursday morning, the State Department said.

The extension follows after the talks failed to reach a preliminary agreement by a Tuesday midnight deadline.

Negotiators have not agreed on all the key details central to a political framework that would form the basis of a future nuclear agreement, diplomats close to the talks said on Wednesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that negotiators had reached a general accord on “all key aspects,” according to Russia’s TASS news agency, while a diplomat close to the talks denied that any such agreement had been reached.

The six powers – the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China – aim to stop Iran from gaining the capacity to develop a nuclear bomb in exchange for easing the international sanctions that are crippling its economy.

Iran says its nuclear programme is for energy purposes only.

Any agreement would almost certainly lift sanctions only in stages, deferring even a partial return of Iranian crude exports until at least 2016. Sanctions have halved Iran’s oil exports to just over 1 million barrels per day since the sanctions were put in place in 2012.

A senior Iranian negotiator said Tehran was willing to negotiate until any deadlock was resolved.

“Iran does not want a nuclear deal just for the sake of having a deal, and a final deal should guarantee the Iranian nation’s nuclear rights,” the negotiator, Hamid Baidinejad, told reporters.

But White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in Washington on Tuesday that US negotiators would not wait until the June 30 deadline for a final deal to walk away from the talks if they could not reach a preliminary agreement.

“If we’re not able to reach a political agreement, then we’re not going to wait ... until June 30 to walk away,” he said.

Speaking in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande said it would be better to have no deal than a bad deal.

Sticking points

Officials from both sides said the main sticking points were the removal of the UN sanctions, provisions for their possible reinstatement, and Iranian demands for the right to research and develop advanced nuclear centrifuges after the first 10 years of the agreement expires.

Officials said Iran was still demanding the lifting of all UN sanctions and insists that they not be reinstated without further negotiations.

Britain, France and the United States want any roll-back of UN sanctions to be automatically reversible, but the Russians dislike this provision because it would weaken their veto power over the deal.

The six powers also want more than a 10-year suspension of Iran’s most sensitive nuclear work. Their goal is to find a way to ensure that, for at least the next 10 years, Iran is at least one year away from being able to produce enough fissile material for an atomic weapon.

Iran said the main issue for Tehran was lifting sanctions quickly.

“There will be no agreement if the sanctions issue cannot be resolved,” Majid Takhteravanchi, an Iranian negotiator, told Iran’s Fars news agency.

Rohani hails nuclear deal as ‘first step’ toward better relations

Iranian President Hassan Rohani on Friday hailed a framework agreement on his country’s nuclear programme as a “first step” toward improved foreign relations, as he vowed to abide by the deal provided major world powers do the same.

“Our discussion isn’t only nuclear,” he said in a speech, citing regional and world security as potential beneficiaries of the deal that ended Iran’s long international isolation via sanctions imposed over itsnuclear programme.

“It’s not that today we have a nuclear issue and want to negotiate with the world and this issue ends: this is a first step toward productive interactions with the world,” he said, suggesting Iran wants a deal to lead to broader rapprochement.

The tentative accord, struck on Thursday after eight days of talks in Switzerland, clears the way for a settlement to allay Western fears that Iran could build an atomic bomb, with economic sanctions on Tehran being lifted in return.

The accord marks the most significant step towards rapprochement between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Iranian revolution.

But the deal still requires experts to work out difficult details before a self-imposed June 30 deadline and diplomats said it could collapse at any time before then.

Rohani’s assertion that the talks are paving the way for an improvement in Iran’s foreign relations appear to contrast with a remark by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a March 21 speech that Iran was negotiating solely on the nuclear dispute.

Hand of friendship

The talks were not about regional matters, said Khamenei, Iran’s most powerful man, an apparent reference to conflicts and instability in Iraq, Syria and the Gulf.

Rohani said he hoped that the support of the people of Iran and Khamenei for the negotiations would “continue until we reach final success” in concluding a comprehensive deal in June.

“Today is a day that will remain in the historic memory of the Iranian nation,” Rohani said. “Some think that we must either fight the world or surrender to world powers. We say it is neither of those, there is a third way. We can have cooperation with the world.”

For Iran, a final deal would eventually lead to the end of sanctions that have cut the oil exports underpinning its economy by more than half over the past three years.

Still, decades of hostility remain between countries that have referred to each other as “the Great Satan” and part of the “axis of evil”.

Rohani said Iran extended the hand of friendship to those who wanted its respect.

“With those countries with which we have a cold relationship we would like a better relationship. And if we have tension or hostility with any countries, we want an end to tension and hostility with those countries,” he said.

Rohani said Iran would honour the deal if major powers did.

“We don’t cheat. We are not two-faced,” Rohani said. “If we’ve given a promise ... we will take action based on that promise. Of course, that depends on the other side taking action on their promises too.”

He added that world powers now accepted Iran could enrich uranium on its own soil, something he said they had once argued posed a threat to the region.