DHAKA, 13 December 2021, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said “Bangladesh has attained all capabilities to protect its independence and sovereignty if it is attacked by any external aggressor and enemy.”

He said “we believe in peace, the Father of the Nation has given us the foreign policy ‘Friendship to all, malice to none’, we believe in that foreign policy, but if we’re attacked by enemies from outside, we’ve attained our capabilities to protect our independence and sovereignty.”

The prime minister was addressing the President Parade 2021 of the 81st BMA Long Course at Bangladesh Military Academy at Bhatiari in Chattogram, joining it virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban.

She asked the new cadets to devote themselves towards protecting the independence and sovereignty of the country as their prime task, if needed the highest sacrifice.

DHAKA, 13 December 2021, (TON): The state minister said “some anti-Bangladesh people may have political motives behind the decision.”

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said “the US sanctions on the IGP and six RAB officials have been politically motivated”

He added that the decision will inspire terrorism and militancy.

At a briefing at his office in the secretariat this morning, Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said RAB as an elite force has been professional in discharge of its work.

He added “yet, Bangladesh did not allow these issues to stand on way of establishing friendly relations with Washington.”

The AL leader mentioned that the US move has hurt Bangladesh when it is celebrating 50 years of its indepence.

JEDDAH, 12 December 2021, (TON): The Saudi government has deactivated 291,931 landmines in Yemen laid by Houthi militia, to clear routes for much-needed humanitarian aid aimed at supporting that country’s embattled citizens.

The Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance in Yemen dismantled 1,578 mines in the first week of December.

This figure includes 17 anti-personnel mines, 518 anti-tank mines, 1,027 unexploded ordinances and 16 other explosive devices.

The project is one of several initiatives undertaken by Saudi Arabia on the orders of King Salman to help ease the suffering of the Yemeni people.

The demining has taken place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada.

DHAKA, 12 December 2021, (TON): US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller was summoned by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen to convey Dhaka's "discontent" over the designated sanctions imposed by the US on some present and former officials of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).

Foreign Secretary Momen expressed Bangladesh's disappointment over the decision taken unilaterally by the US administration without prior consultation with the government of Bangladesh.

He flagged that the issues that were cited for imposing the designated sanctions remained under active discussions, including under the framework of the regular institutional dialogues between the two sides, and yet the US decision came without any prior intimation.

KHARTOUM, 12 December 2021, (TON): The UN cautiously welcomed the agreement reached on Nov. 21 in Sudan between Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and the leaders of October’s military coup.

During a meeting to discuss the latest UN report on the situation in the country, Volker Perthes, the UN’s special representative for Sudan, told the Security Council that the agreement is far from perfect but could help to avoid further bloodshed and provide a first step toward comprehensive dialogue and a return to constitutional order.

But he pointed out that there is strong opposition to the deal from a large segment of Sudanese stakeholders, including parties and associations within the Forces of Freedom and Change coalition, resistance committees, civil society organizations and women’s groups, who feel “betrayed” by the coup.

Perthes said “forthcoming decisions on government formation, high-level appointments and the establishment of transitional institutions will test the will and ability of the stakeholders to seek a common way out of the crisis.”

CAIRO, 12 December 2021, (TON): The education ministries of Egypt and the UAE have signed a cooperation agreement in the field of higher education and scientific research.

Egypt’s Higher Education Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said the agreement involves exchanging experiences, scholarships, information and faculty visits, holding regular forums, and joint marketing of study programs between the two countries.

LONDON, 12 December 2021, (TON): A readout from Foreign Secretary Lis Truss’ meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

A spokesperson from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said:

The Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was delighted to meet new German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Liverpool ahead of the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ Meeting and congratulated her on her appointment.

She reiterated the importance of the UK-Germany partnership.

The Ministers agreed on the importance of defending and advancing freedom and democracy and the need to stand up to autocratic regimes that threaten the free world.

They discussed a number of priorities including the importance of the G7 countries presenting a united front in the face of Russia’s ongoing threat to Ukraine.

Both agreed on a shared ambition for a pragmatic solution to issues around the Northern Ireland Protocol that works for the people of Northern Ireland.

WASHINGTON, 12 December 2021, (TON): At least 50 people are dead after four tornadoes tore through the southeastern US state of Kentucky, its governor told reporters early Saturday, as several storms ravaged swathes of the country.

Governor Andy Beshear said “a number of counties in Kentucky were left devastated with the strongest tornado tearing through 200 miles of the state.”

On the same night a storm ripped through a massive Amazon warehouse in the state of Illinois where around 100 workers were left trapped inside, local media reported.

Beshear said "I fear that there are more than 50 dead probably closer to somewhere between 70 and 100, it's devastating.”

He added that “it was the most severe tornado event in Kentucky's history."

The governor added “in one incident, the roof of a candle factory collapsed, resulting in "mass casualties" in the city of Mayfield.

TEHRAN, 12 December 2021, (TON): The official news agency reported “Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that Tehran was serious in its nuclear talks with world powers in Vienna.”

Indirect US-Iranian talks to revive a 2015 Iran nuclear deal resumed on Thursday in the Austrian capital. Diplomats from France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China shuttle between the two sides because Tehran refuses direct contact with Washington.

A European source, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested on Friday that Iran had agreed to continue talks from where they left off in June. Iranian officials denied this.

Under the original deal that then-US President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, Iran limited its nuclear programme in return for relief from US, European Union and U.N. sanctions.

Agency quoted Raisi as saying "the fact that we presented the text of Iran's proposal to the negotiating parties shows that we are serious in the talks, and if the other side is also serious about the removal of US sanctions, we will achieve a good agreement. We are definitely after a good agreement.”

A year after Trump's reimposition of sanctions on Iran, Tehran began to gradually violate nuclear limits of the agreement. Iran wants all sanctions to be lifted.

WASHINGTON, 12 December 2021, (TON): The United States imposed extensive human rights-related sanctions on dozens of people and entities tied to China, Myanmar, North Korea and Bangladesh, and added Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company SenseTime Group to an investment blacklist.

Canada and the United Kingdom joined the United States in imposing sanctions related to human rights abuse in Myanmar, while Washington also imposed the first new sanctions on North Korea under President Joe Biden’s administration and targeted Myanmar military entities, among others, in action marking Human Rights Day.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in the statement “our actions today, particularly those in partnership with the United Kingdom and Canada, send a message that democracies around the world will act against those who abuse the power of the state to inflict suffering and repression.”

The North Korean mission at the United Nations and the Chinese, Myanmar and Bangladesh embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.