Daughter of deposed Bangladesh dictator Sheikh Hasina and the World Health Organisation’s south-east Asia head Saima Wazed has been put “on leave” this week. Wazed was charged by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission with fraud, forgery and abuse of power in March. Among the allegations is that she allegedly illegally obtained a government residential plot. Wazed has not publicly responded to the allegations…
Last month the ACC requested the WHO help “facilitate” Wazed’s appearance before the Bangladeshi courts and “initiate…whatever is demanded…for an absconder in a serious criminal offence”. The agency has appointed Catharina Boehme, assistant director-general at WHO’s Geneva headquarters, as officer-in-charge of the South-East Asia Regional Office in New Delhi “during the period.” Might be a while…
Meanwhile, former assistant UN secretary-general Kul Chandra Gautam said “If [Wazed] were not the daughter of the PM, I don’t think she would be a serious candidate.” To which Wazed has said was an “offensive” claim. The saga continues…
Andy Haldane, Burnham’s recent adviser on the economy who has not taken up a No10 job, told Andrew Marr on LBC:
“The market now suspects that this is a traditional tax-and-spend socialist government with better TikTok videos…
imposing windfall taxes on oil & gas or on banks or upping capital gains tax would […] repeat the mistake that Rachel made […] The Achilles heel, the fiscal Achilles heel of this government thus far has been its unwillingness and/or inability to cut public spending.”