BANGLADESH-PM Has Resigned & Fled Country Amid Mass Protests

Reportsemerging from Bangladesh claiming that PM Sheikh Hasina has resigned and fled the country amid mass protests that have rocked the south Asian nation in recent weeks. The protests began among students opposed to quota systems for civil service jobs, but have broadened into a larger anti-gov't that has seen over 200 killed over the past month. Hasina has served as PM since 2009, and in January won a fourth consecutive term in office (her fifth in total) amid an opposition boycott and allegations of electoral impropriety.

• The situation will be watched closely in New Delhi amid the prospect of sustained political instability in the country of 171mn people surrounded almost entirely by India. DW reports: "In recent years, both India and China have expanded their economic stakes in Bangladesh, which is being folded into the two countries' growing geopolitical rivalry."
• Bangladesh has also acted as a buffer for India towards political unrest in Myanmar. It also provites crucial access to its power grid and ports to the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura that sit somewhat isolated from the rest of the country.
• The situation remains very volatile, with no guarantee of a stable transition of power to a democratically-elected gov't. The head of the Bandladeshi armed forces is believed to be holding talks with political parties and will deliver a public address later today.