Researchers find that in low and middle-income countries owning spectacles can help people over 35 increase their income Owning a pair of reading glasses might help people increase their earnings by a third, according to new research. The study, conducted in Bangladesh, is the first to examine the impact of having a decent pair of spectacles, and researchers found monthly median earnings among one group of people increased from $35.30 to $47.10 within eight months, a rise of 33.4 ..read more

In 2017, a crying Asom Khan became the face of Myanmar’s refugees. Now 15, he has discovered his own passion for photography His own sign language of sweeping, dramatised gestures is rarely fully understood by those outside Asom Khan’s closest friends and family but the 15-year-old is able to speak through his art and photography. From his shelter in the Rohingya refugee camps of south-east Bangladesh, Khan takes photos to share the stories of his community – of his elderly neighbours, disabled people, and of women at work and in times of crisis ..read more

As rising sea levels and extreme weather contaminate drinking water sources, doctors are seeing alarming numbers of women with serious health problems including pre-eclampsia Photographs by Farzana Hossen In the small, crowded ward of the Upazila Health Complex in Dacope, new and expecting mothers lie exhausted beneath fans that spin noisily above their heads. There are no dividers in the maternity room shared by more than 20 women, so visiting husbands are ushered out by nurses when someone needs attending to. Sapriya Rai, 23, has pre-eclampsia and is being monitored at the Upazila Health C ..read more

Pollution, traffic, noise – the busy streets of the Bangladeshi capital prohibit many who are ill or have limited mobility from leaving their homes, posing further risks to their health The door of Rehana Khan’s sixth-floor flat is as far as she ventures during the day. On most days, she barely leaves her bed. The city outside is too chaotic and overwhelming for her. Khan, 57, moved to Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, a year ago, after her husband died. She lives with her only son and his wife, who were worried about her being alone in a village in the north-eastern district of Sylhet ..read more

Soaked survivors clung to hull overnight before being taken to safety by Indonesian rescue team Dozens of Rohingya refugees have been rescued from the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia after spending the night balanced on the hull of their overturned boat. Seventy-five people were pulled from the stricken vessel, which was spotted on Thursday by an Indonesian search and rescue ship ..read more

As the Gulf kingdom bids to host a World Cup that will see its reliance on cheap foreign labour soar, planeloads of men already return daily to Dhaka, gaunt, dazed and broke Among the joyful family reunions at the arrivals gate at Dhaka’s international airport, one group of travellers stands out. These men appear gaunt and dazed, most of them carrying nothing but a thin blanket they picked up on the plane. They wear tracksuits and blue rubber sandals or shoes without laces. Some walk barefoot. All have just been deported from Saudi Arabia, and each day they arrive by the planeload. Nearly ..read more

Campaigners warn Fifa over risk of death toll rising once 2034 preparations start, after Guardian investigation reveals most of the thousands of Bangladeshi workers’ deaths are unexplained Another World Cup will be tainted by worker deaths if Fifa fails to act, say rights groups An ambulance is weaving through the chaos of the cargo depot at Dhaka’s international airport, navigating a careful route through trolleys stacked high with boxes, men hauling rolls of cloth and trucks reversing into loading bays. It stops and, shortly afterwards, from between the towering piles of goods, a coffin is ..read more

Faint hope of return for Rohingya people. Plus: a journey through Ukraine • Get the Guardian Weekly magazine delivered to your home address It was August 2017 when the world really started to take note of Myanmar’s Rohingya people. Descendants of Arab Muslims who speak a different language to most other people in Myanmar, the Rohingya had up to that point lived mainly in the northern Rakhine state, coexisting uneasily alongside the majority Buddhist population. But the Rohingya were reviled by many as illegal immigrants and treated by the then government as stateless people. In 2017, when viol ..read more

People trapped in the world’s largest refugee camp hope to seek new lives elsewhere despite threats facing them as they attempt to leave Bangladesh Even as dehydration was getting to their passengers, the traffickers using boats to carry hundreds of Rohingya away from refugee camps in Bangladesh thrust phones into their hands and demanded they ask their relatives for money. It was only after 28-year-old Rehana Begum’s relatives had paid almost £2,000 to the traffickers that they agreed to continue their journey, but a few days later, still onboard the boat, she fell unconscious and later died ..read more

Many also injured after flames tore through seven-storey building in affluent district At least 45 people have been killed and dozens injured after a fire blazed through a seven-storey building in an upmarket neighbourhood in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. Bangladesh’s health minister Samanta Lal Sen said 45 people had died, after visiting the Dhaka medical college hospital and an adjoining burns hospital ..read more