A Myanmar junta airstrike hit a school Monday killing 22 people, including 20 children, witnesses said, despite a purported humanitarian ceasefire called to help the Southeast Asian nation recover from a devastating earthquake. The strike hit a school in the village of Oe Htein Kwin — around 100 kilometres (65 miles) northwest of the epicentre of the March 28 quake — at about 10:00 am (0330 GMT), locals said. UN chief Antonio Guterres is “deeply alarmed” by reports of the strike, his spokesman told reporters in New York, adding that “schools must remain areas in which children have a safe…
Author: diplomaticjourna_diplomaticjourna
(BSS/AFP) – Defence ministers from five major European military powers will meet in Italy on Friday to discuss support for Ukraine, the host country said. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto will host his counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and Poland, his ministry said Monday in a statement. The announcement came after Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready for direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Istanbul on Thursday. US President Donald Trump said Monday he was “thinking” about flying to Turkey for the talks but Russia did not indicate whether Putin would take part. Aside from…
Special Envoy to the Chief Adviser for International Affairs, Lutfey Siddiqi, today held a high-level meeting with top western diplomats to review the past eight months progress on labour reforms and outline the government’s roadmap ahead. Ambassadors and high commissioners USA, UK, Canada, European Union and ILO attended the meeting held at Chief Adviser’s Office (CAO) in Tejgaon. Technical experts and labour rights specialists were with the special envoy when he for the first time delivered full summary of the government’s reform efforts since the July 2024. “Over the past eight months, we’ve made dramatic progress,” Lutfey said. “The ILO roadmap…
The Israeli military said Tuesday it had struck a hospital in southern Gaza housing Hamas militants, ending a brief pause in fighting to facilitate the release of a US-Israeli hostage. The military said in a Telegram post that “significant Hamas terrorists” had been “operating from within a command and control centre” at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza’s main city just north of Rafah. “The compound was used by the terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF (army) troops,” it said. No information was immediately available on possible casualties. Israel had paused military…
The United States and China have agreed to initially lift tariffs on each other’s goods for the next 90 days, the two countries said in a joint statement on Monday. The announcement came today after lengthy trade talks between top officials from the two countries in Geneva, Switzerland, according to US broadcaster CNN. In a joint statement, the world’s two largest economies said the United States would temporarily reduce its tariffs on Chinese goods from 145 percent to 30 percent, while China would reduce its tariffs on US goods from 125 percent to 10 percent. Earlier, US President Donald Trump…
Denmark today expressed its intention to developing a new strategic sectoral cooperation for Bangladesh in the area of circular economy, with a particular focus on the ready-made garments (RMG) sector. The European nation also announced an additional allocation of 5 million US dollars to support Bangladesh’s democratic transition, in response to a request from the Bangladesh government. These were revealed during the third round of Political Consultations between Bangladesh and Denmark that was held at the state guest house Padma in the capital, according to a joint press statement. The consultations were co-chaired by Bangladesh foreign ministry’s Director General (West…
US President Donald Trump left for Saudi Arabia Monday, on what he called a “historic” tour of the Middle East that will mix urgent diplomacy on Gaza and Iran with huge business deals. Air Force One took off from Joint Base Andrews near Washington for a journey that will include visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — and possibly talks on the Ukraine war in Turkey.
The interim government today formed a committee to restructure the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) that draws personnel from three armed services alongside police, home affairs adviser retired lieutenant general M Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said. “We have formed a committee to decide on how the RAB will be reorganised,” he told reporters emerging from a meeting of the advisory council on law and order at his ministry’s conference room at the Bangladesh Secretariat. Chowdhury said the committee would decide if the special law enforcement agency would retain its name and existing uniform alongside the issues related to its modus operandi. According…
Home Ministry today issued a gazette notification banning all activities of the Awami League, its all front, associate and brotherly organizations. “Until the trial of the leaders and activists of Bangladesh Awami League and all its front, associate and brotherly organizations is completed at the International Crimes Tribunal, all activities including any kind of publication in the media, online and social media, all kinds of campaign, procession, meeting, gathering, conference, etc. of Bangladesh Awami League and its all front, associates and brotherly organizations are prohibited,” it reads. “This order will be effective immediately,” the gazette said. The gazette was signed…
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today called for an integrated economic strategy among Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Seven North Eastern States of India, emphasising the potential of cross-border collaboration in hydropower, healthcare, and road connectivity. The Chief Adviser made the call when the visiting Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament of Nepal Indira Rana called on him at his office here. The Deputy Speaker of Nepal is currently visiting Bangladesh for attending an event organised by the Embassy of Nepal in Dhaka. During the meeting, the Chief Adviser stressed the urgency of fostering regional…
