Renewed U.S. outreach to Bangladesh signals strategic shift in region

DHAKA -- When Donald Lu visited Bangladesh last year, the veteran American envoy was banging the drum of democracy ahead of elections that critics warned were tilted in favor of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ruling Awami League.

Washington had threatened visa restrictions on officials suspected of impeding a free vote. But Hasina still cruised to a fourth consecutive term in a poll boycotted by the opposition and tarnished by violence, the arrests of rival leaders and activists, and allegations of manipulation at polling stations.