ALGIERS, 28 August 2022, (TON): President Emmanuel Macron called Friday for a new pact with Algeria and truth and recognition of the past, on day two of a visit to France’s former colony aimed at mending troubled ties.

The trip follows months of tensions between Paris and the North African country, which earlier this year marked six decades of independence following 132 years of French rule.

The three-day visit also comes as European powers scramble to replace Russian energy imports — including with supplies from Algeria, Africa’s top gas exporter, which in turn is seeking a greater regional role.

Macron had proclaimed a new page in relations, after meeting President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and announcing the creation of a joint commission of historians to examine the colonial period and the devastating eight-year war that ended it, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of lives.

RIYADH, 28 August 2022, (TON): Saudi Arabia express solidarity with Pakistan after floods in the Asian nation claimed the lives of hundreds of people and prompted the government to call a state of emergency.

A Saudi ministry of foreign affairs statement said “the Kingdom has offered sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery for the injured.”

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday requested international help in tackling the flood damage as rescuers attempt to free thousands who are stranded in flood-ravaged areas.

Sharif who blamed the horrors of climate change for the tragedy said the scale of this flooding is worse than that in 2010, when nearly 2,000 people died.

DHAKA, 28 August 2022, (TON): The depreciation of local currency Taka against the US dollar is likely to lead the government to spend over Tk 10 crore extra to meet payment obligation for Biman Bangladesh Airlines next month.

According to officials in the finance division “the government has already spent Tk 1.32 crore extra in June for clearing an installment against the purchase of two Boeing 787-9s by Biman.”

The government purchased two aircraft from the US company with the country’s reserve fund in 2019.

Sonali Bank has already calculated the exchange rate at Tk 111 that would require about Tk 99 crore for the next installment to be paid in September.

DHAKA, 28 August 2022, (TON): Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has said “the United States imposed sanctions against the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and some of its current and former officials without receiving any specific information.”

The minister was speaking to reporters after an event at a hotel in Dhaka.

Mentioning United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s recent visit, Asaduzzaman Khan told the media that she had repeatedly said Bangladesh was not violating any human rights, and that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was running the country with utmost care.

He mentioned "I only followed the statement of the UN high commissioner for human rights. People talk, but I have always said that no one believes anything unless it is based on fact and evidence.”

KABUL, 28 August 2022, (TON): Naseer Ahmad Faiq, Chargé d'Affaires of the Afghanistan Permanent Mission to the UN, said “the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is scheduled to hold a briefing meeting on Afghanistan on Monday.”

According to Faiq “this meeting will be held at Russia's request and will cover the humanitarian and economic situations in Afghanistan.”

"On Monday, the United Nations Security Council will hold a briefing on the humanitarian and economic situation in Afghanistan,” Faiq told media.

DHAKA, 28 August 2022, (TON): Bangladesh has started exporting unused cotton fabric (jhut) of garment factories to India by sea for the first time.

Confirming the matter to Dhaka Tribune, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority Director Mohammad Rafiqul Islam said that it will be possible to earn a large amount of foreign currency through this export program.

A ship named “Ya Razzak” left for India from the West Muktarpur Summit Alliance Port of Dhaleswari River in Munshiganj with 111 metric tons of jhut.

Moktar Hossain Traders company started the jhut export operations with India.

DHAKA, 28 August 2022, (TON): Ambassador of China to Bangladesh HE Li Jiming has been gracious enough to grant this extraordinarily open and forthright interview to Probir Kumar Sarker, which we shall be running in five parts this week.

In Sunday’s introductory section, Ambassador Li discusses the significance of the recent visit to Bangladesh of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Mr Wang Yi and what it means for bilateral relations.

China and Bangladesh are amicable neighbours and strategic partners of cooperation. The visit of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Mr. Wang Yi aims at continuing traditional friendship and upgrading mutually beneficial cooperation.

DHAKA, 28 August 2022, (TON): Experts and government officials hope the much-awaited eighth Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge in Pirojpur district will clear a bottleneck at ferry terminals in the region, much like the Padma Bridge.

Currently, hundreds of people travelling between Khulna and Barisal are reliant on the Bekutia-Kumirmara ferry route to cross the Kocha River.

Although it only takes about 15 minutes for ferries to cross, passengers often have to wait for over an hour as only a single ferry operates on the route, locals told Dhaka Tribune.

They added “Many passengers travelling from Barisal to Khulna take the long way around through Magura district as they are unwilling to wait for ferries.”

WASHINGTON, 27 August 2022, (TON): The Pentagon will set up a new center in the next year to help avoid civilian casualties in military operations around the world through better education and training and increased screening before strikes are launched.

The plan ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin comes on the heels of widespread criticism over a US airstrike in Kabul last August that killed 10 civilians, including children, during the final chaotic days of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

A senior defense official said the development of a new Civilian Protection Center of Excellence and other improvements will cost tens of millions of dollars per year, and the plan more broadly would involve the addition of about 150 staff.

The center would initially start operations in the 2023 budget year that begins Oct. 1, and would be fully staffed and working by 2025. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under department rules to provide details of the plan.

WASHINGTON, 27 August 2022, (TON): NATO’s highest Military Authority, the Military Committee, will meet from 16-18 September 2022, in Tallinn, Estonia. Lieutenant General Martin Herem, Chief of the Estonian Defence Forces will host the Conference.

During the NATO Military Committee Conference the Chiefs of Defence will discuss military strategic developments within the Alliance.

They will address the implementation of decisions taken during the NATO Summit in Madrid on the Alliance’ deterrence and defence posture. The Chiefs of Defence will also discuss ongoing NATO operations, missions, and activities including the NATO Mission Iraq  and Kosovo Force.

Other topics on the agenda are the promotion of diversity and innovation in Allied Armed Forces, in order to support multi-domain operations and digital transformation.

For the first time, as invitees, the Chiefs of Defence of Finland and Sweden will attend the conference.