Staff Correspondent The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) held a virtual meeting with Finland’s Ambassador for Human Rights Katja Pehrman on Wednesday. The meeting focused on key issues including democracy, human rights, rule of law in Bangladesh, and the upcoming parliamentary elections, according to a Facebook post by the BNP Media Cell. BNP also urged the Finnish Ambassador to expedite the visa process for Bangladeshi citizens, particularly families and students, to facilitate easier applications from Bangladesh. Highlighting concerns to the Finnish envoy, BNP said that Bangladeshis are facing delays in obtaining visas from the Finnish Embassy in Delhi due to India’s…
Author: diplomaticjourna_diplomaticjourna
Pope Leo XIV sought to reassure Catholics in his first interview published Thursday that he would not change key doctrine on gay marriage and women deacons, after his predecessor’s divisive papacy. The US-born pontiff, elected four months ago, struck a different tone to outspoken Pope Francis, whose attempts to open the Church for the modern era enraged traditionalists. In an interview with US journalist Elise Ann Allen for the book “Pope Leo XIV: Global Citizen, Missionary of the 21st Century,” Leo admitted that “people want the church doctrine to change, want attitudes to change.” But he said “we have to…
DJ Desk : The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates for the first time this year, flagging slower job gains and risks to employment as policymakers face heightened pressure under President Donald Trump. The Fed cut the benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, to a range between 4.0 percent and 4.25 percent, while penciling in two more cuts this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed that the central bank remains “strongly committed” to maintaining its independence from politics, however, when asked about the addition of a key advisor to Trump among its ranks this week. He added…
DJ Desk A federal judge overseeing a closely watched climate case on Wednesday pressed the lawyer representing young Americans suing President Donald Trump on whether courts have constitutional authority to rein in his fossil-fuel agenda. On the second and last day of hearings in Missoula, Montana, attorneys delivered final arguments in Lighthiser v. Trump, part of a growing global wave of lawsuits seeking to force climate action amid political inertia or hostility. The 22 plaintiffs, represented by the nonprofit Our Children’s Trust, want a preliminary injunction against three executive orders they say trample their inalieanable rights by seeking to “unleash”…
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a new strategic defence pact on Wednesday, with the two sides saying an attack on one country would be considered “an aggression against both”. The agreement comes just days after an Israeli strike targeted Hamas leaders in neighbouring Qatar, sending shock waves through the Gulf states that have long depended on the United States for their security. “This agreement… aims to develop aspects of defence cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression,” read a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency. “The agreement states that any aggression against either country…
(BSS/AFP) – Pro-Palestinian slogans rang out around London’s Ovo Arena Wembley on Wednesday, with the 12,500-capacity venue sold out for Britain’s biggest fundraising event for the people of Gaza. The livestreamed “Together for Palestine” (T4P) concert, with tickets at o70 ($95) each, was the latest in a series of pro-Palestinian events in the British capital, which has seen a wave of marches and demonstrations since the conflict began nearly two years ago. British musician and political activist Brian Eno organised the fundraiser to support charities working in the Palestinian territory and to encourage celebrities to speak out. The line-up included…
Staff Correspondent : Scores of Sudanese refugees were dead or missing after two boat disasters off the coast of Libya last weekend, UN agencies said on Wednesday. One boat capsized on Saturday, according to the UN refugee agency, and a second caught fire on Sunday, the International Organization for Migration said — each off the eastern port city of Tobruk. The first boat was carrying 74 people, “mostly Sudanese refugees”, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on its X account for Libya, of whom “only 13 people survived and dozens remain missing” from Saturday’s wreck. An IOM…
(BSS/AFP) – Venezuela said Wednesday it had begun three days of military exercises on its Caribbean island of La Orchila as tensions soar amid US military activity in the region. Forces deployed for what Washington called an anti-drug operation have blown up at least two Venezuelan boats and a combined 14 people allegedly transporting drugs across the Caribbean this month — a move slammed as “extrajudicial execution” by UN experts. The strikes and a deployment of US warships in the region have raised fears of an invasion in Venezuela, whose President Nicolas Maduro Washington accuses of being a cartel leader.…
Staff Correspondent : National Consensus Commission Vice-Chairman Professor Dr Ali Riaz said the commission may recommend the government to issue a “Constitutional Order” to implement the constitutional recommendations of the July National Charter 2025. “Experts have provided a consolidated opinion, recommending that the government may issue a “Constitutional Order” based on the 22-point declaration of July Charter to implement the charter’s constitutional recommendations, and that order may later receive final approval from the people through a referendum,” he said. Prof Riaz was talking to reporters after the third day of talks with political parties at the Foreign Service Academy here.…
Staff Correspondent : Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Dr. Asif Nazrul today stressed the need for continuation of the legal and institutional reforms taken by the interim government for ensuring justice. “One of the five main problems in Bangladesh is the crisis of justice. We have done many legal and institutional reforms, which no one has carried out in the past. If the next government maintains these reforms, there will be unlimited opportunities for people to get justice and there will be no crisis in justice delivery,” he said. He made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest…
