Author: Arif ArifArman

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India’s relations with Southeast Asian states have come a long way from estrangement in the 1990s to contemporary strategic engagement since 2014. As a firm acknowledgement of the mutual desire of both sides to expand and deepen their ties, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) elevated their relations further to a comprehensive strategic partnership in November 2022, Bernama News reported. However, while India Southeast Asian relations have exponentially improved over the past two decades, the need for New Delhi to pay more attention to the security concerns of Southeast Asian states and consistently operationalize robust…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Philippine coast guard has finally decided to take a stand against China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea. By publicizing these incidents, Manila’s coast guard hopes to counter China’s propaganda and shine a light on Beijing’s repeated violations of international law. This move has garnered international condemnation and put China under the spotlight. The Philippine coast guard has stepped up its patrols in the contested waters and has made an effort to document and publicize China’s assertive behavior in the strategic waterway. One such incident occurred on February 6 when a Chinese coast guard ship…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Veteran leader of the Nepali Congress party Ram Chandra Paudel has been elected the new president of Nepal. Paudel had a convincing victory securing 33,802 votes against his rival Subash Chandra Nembang from the Communist Party of Nepal – Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) who could manage only 15, 518 votes. It is the third presidential election in the Himalayan Country of Nepal since the country became a republic in 2008. The president of Nepal is elected by an Electoral College comprising two houses of federal parliament and seven provincial legislators. Mr. Shaligram, the spokesperson of the Election Commission…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: The Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India Andalib Elias on Wednesday inaugurated a visa information and application centre at Kolkata Railway Station to facilitate overseas passengers availing visa services for Bangladesh-bound trains. Speaking to ANI, Bangladesh’s Deputy High Commissioner to India Andalib Elias said, “It will be easy for people to go to station and get any information about Visas. We are planning to provide tourism information to whoever wants to visit Bangladesh as a tourist. The project was conceptualized under the scheme of New-innovative ideas. The visa information centre is another amenity exclusively for passengers availing…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Britain on Thursday became the latest Western country to prohibit the use of TikTok on “government devices,” citing security fears linked to the video-sharing app’s ownership by a Chinese company. Speaking in Parliament, Oliver Dowden, a senior cabinet minister, announced the ban with immediate effect, describing it as “precautionary,” even though the United States, the European Union’s executive arm, Canada and India had already taken similar steps. New Zealand did so on Friday. Social media apps collect and store “huge amounts of user data including contacts, user content and geolocation data on government devices that data can be…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India-based defence company BrahMos Aerospace expects to close a deal this year to sell Indonesia supersonic cruise missiles worth at least US$200 million, as it looks to expand its presence in Southeast Asia, its chief executive said on Wednesday. BrahMos, a joint venture between India and Russia, clinched its first foreign deal last year with a US$375 million sale of shore-based anti-ship missiles to the Philippines – part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious push to triple defence exports. The company has been in protracted negotiations with Indonesia and details about the size and timeline of a…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India on Thursday asserted that there has been no change in its position on not recognising the Taliban regime in Kabul, in comments that came amid reports of an Afghan foreign policy body asking officials to attend an online programme under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) initiative. The Institute of Diplomacy under the Afghan Foreign Ministry reportedly conveyed to officials in Kabul to register for the ITEC course which was to be hosted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kozhikode. At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also said that the Indian…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj on Thursday said as the prime minister said India chairing G20 is a reflection of the strength of 140 crore Indians, “we are making it a People’s G20.” “As the honourable Prime Minister of India has said that the chairing by India of the G20 presidency is a reflection of the strength of 140 crore Indians. We are taking the G20 to the people of our country, we are making it a People’s G20,” Kamboj said while addressing the UN Informal briefing on the ‘G20 Finance Ministers and Central…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: At least 29 people, including three monks, were killed at a monastery in Myanmar’s Southern Shan State on Saturday as local insurgent groups and the military-backed junta accused each other of carrying out a massacre, reported Myanmar Now. Photographs posted online on Sunday showed several blood-soaked bodies near the entrance to the village monastery, including three belonging to Buddhist monks. The front of the monastery was also heavily pockmarked with bullet holes. The latest incident, which comes just weeks after junta troops allegedly murdered 17 villagers in Sagaing Region’s Myinmu Township earlier this month, occurred on Saturday in…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: United States Senators Bill Hagerty and Jeff Merkley have introduced a bipartisan Senate resolution reaffirming the United States’ recognition of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India and condemned China’s military aggression to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). “At a time when China continues to pose grave and gathering threats to the free and open Indo-Pacific, it’s critical for the United States to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our strategic partners in the region–especially India,” said Senator Hagerty in the press release. This bipartisan resolution expresses the Senate’s support for unequivocally recognizing the…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: A Myanmar delegation is visiting Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh this week to verify a few hundred potential returnees for a pilot repatriation project, though a Bangladeshi official said it was unclear when they would be going home. Nearly one million Rohingya Muslim refugees are living in camps in the border district of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, most having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner in Cox’s Bazar, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, told Reuters there was a list of 1,140 Rohingya who are to be repatriated through the pilot project, of…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Wednesday urged businessmen to make marginal profit during the month of Ramadan considering people’s sufferings. The minister advised the common people to cross-check and shop without stepping into the trap of lucrative advertisements. Munshi said this while speaking as the chief guest at a discussion meeting organised by the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) on the occasion of ‘World Consumer Rights Day 2023’ at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Agargaon on Wednesday. Taking into account the suffering of the people, the Commerce Minister asked the businessmen, “There are various discount systems…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas today said in terms of foreign investment here, the United States (US) is number one and will continue this position in the future. “We are the number one in foreign investment in Bangladesh. Our investment will continue in the future too,” he said this while visiting 584 MW power plant, a gas-based combined cycle plant at Sonargaon in Narayanganj district. He said, the US companies are interested to invest more in Bangladesh but the regulatory bodies would have to be more rationale. Managing Director and Chairman of the Unique Meghnaghat Power Plant…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today issued separate messages wishing the 51st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Bangladesh Scouts a success as it will be held tomorrow. On the eve of the 51st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Bangladesh Scouts, the President and the Prime Minister greeted all Rovers, Scouts, Cubs, and Scout Leaders. President Md Abdul Hamid, in his message, extended his congratulations to the recipients of the Silver Tiger and Silver Hilsa Awards and other awards in 2021 in recognition of their unique contribution to the development and expansion of Bangladesh Scouts.…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The remains of a Chinese rocket which was used to deliver spy satellites into space burned up over the skies of Nepal on Saturday, the USNI reported. The similar incident had occurred over the Texas last week. The Chang Zheng 2D ‘Long March’ rocket reentered the atmosphere on Saturday after more than 200 days in space and burned up over the skies of Nepal, according to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell. The four-ton piece of space junk was part of the China National Space Administration’s Y-65 mission. It had deliver three military electronic surveillance satellites on July 29 from the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The local Muslims in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district helped in performing the last rites of a 70-year-old Kashmiri Pandit, who died on Tuesday. Setting an example of communal harmony and brotherhood, the local Muslims in Batapora Wahibugh village of Newa hamlet in South Kashmir’s Pulwama came together to help perform the last rites of their Pandit neighbor. According to the news agency, Parry Lal Pandit resident of Wahibugh village about 8 kilometer from Pulwama town was a known figure in the area as according to the locals, he used to help persons in need. As only a few…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A Russian fighter jet on Tuesday dumped fuel on an American drone over the Black Sea and then collided with it, causing the drone to crash, the US military said, slamming the manoeuvre as “reckless”. US European Command said two Russian Su-27 fighters intercepted the unmanned MQ-9 Reaper over international waters and one clipped its propeller. “Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner,” it said. Moscow denied causing the crash of the drone, which the Pentagon said was on a…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Yang Xiaokun, Special Representative for Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, on Tuesday met Foreign Secretary Ambassador Masud Bin Momen and discussed on multilateral human rights discourse and also on possible areas of cooperation. Earlier, on 13 March, China and Bangladesh held first-ever official consultations on multilateral human rights issues in Dhaka. Yang Xiaokun led the Chinese delegation, while Toufiq Islam Shatil, Director General (United Nations Wing), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led Bangladesh side. The wwo sides exchanged views on their national human rights philosophy and achievements, ongoing developments, and mutual cooperation on human…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Good news for flower lovers! The eighth edition of the Royal Bhutan Flower Exhibition will be held in Thimphu, from May 2 to 6 2023, stated The Tourism Council Of Bhutan. This popular annual event provides a platform for local gardeners, artisans and entrepreneurs to display their plants and floral creations. Traditional crafts and installations are showcased at the festival along with a huge mural painted by artists from VAST Bhutan (Voluntary Artists Studio, Thimphu ). A vast range of medicinal plants and herbs from the Himalayas are exhibited by Bhutan’s Institute of Traditional Medicine. Bhutan is known…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: The High Court on Tuesday asked the two city corporations in Dhaka to form a 7-member committee for each ward to examine the sewerage and gas pipelines to ensure safety of the residents. The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Ahmed Sohel passed the order after hearing a writ petition. Chairman of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (Rajuk), Managing Director of Titas Gas, Managing Director of Dhaka Wasa, Chief Executive Officer of Dhaka North and South City Corporations have been asked to form the seven-member monitoring committees involving experts from the departments concerned. The HC also asked the…

Z00MBANGLA DESK: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today sought more cooperation from Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the development of Bangladesh mainly its education, skill enhancement and infrastructures. She called for the support when a visiting delegation of ADB led by its President Masatsugu Asakawa paid a courtesy call on her at Hotel Intercontinental Dhaka. Prime Minister’s Speech Writer Md Nazrul Islam briefed reporters after the meeting. During the meeting, Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh is emphasizing education, skill development and infrastructures, seeking more cooperation for various projects including those. Talking about stipends and mid-day meal programmes for school students, she urged…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Bangladesh and Australia today expressed keen interest to work together for further deepen and widen the economic cooperation between the two nations. This was discussed during the 4th Foreign Office Consultation between Bangladesh and Australia held at the State Guest House Padma in the capital. Bangladesh foreign ministry’s Secretary (West) Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury and Australian ministry of foreign affairs and trade Gary Cowan led the delegation of their respective side. During the meeting, various bilateral, regional, international, economic and overall issues related to the mutual interests of Bangladesh and Australia were discussed in detail. Australian delegation expressed its…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: The government has fixed the office timing from 9 am to 3.30 pm for all government, semi-government, autonomous and semi-autonomous institutions during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan. The decision was taken at the regular cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) here with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. “The office timing for all government, semi-government, autonomous and semi-autonomous institutions has been set from 9 am to 3.30 pm during the upcoming Ramadan,” Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain told a press briefing at the Secretariat here after the meeting. During the office time, he said, there…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said she will never bow down to any foreign pressure as the people are her strength, reiterating to hold the next general election in a free and fair manner. “You have to keep one thing in mind that there is no such pressure that can pressurize Sheikh Hasina,” she said in reply to the question – whether she is feeling any foreign pressure over the next general election in the context that the BNP has been lobbying foreigners and publication of an advertisement with the statement of 40 global personalities regarding Dr Yunus.…