DHAKA • The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) yesterday urged Bangladesh to endorse a UN convention against corruption.

“To fight against, and to eliminate, corruption Bangladesh should endorse the convention,” Manoj Basnyat, UNDP country director in Dhaka, told reporters. So far, 148 countries including most South Asian nations except Bangladesh and the Maldives have endorsed the convention, he said.

Aid groups under pressure

YANGON • Myanmar is hampering humanitarian efforts by tightening restrictions on international aid agencies, further putting at risk the country’s impoverished population, the International Crisis Group said.

The military-run nation is becoming increasingly aggressive and intrusive towards global aid agencies in a bid to control their activities, the independent organisation said in a report.

Apart from the junta’s pressure, overseas pro-democracy groups were also stepping up efforts to restrict and micro-manage humanitarian aid flows, it said.