BEIRUT, 16 August 2022, (TON): Ukrainian embassy in Beirut said “first grain ship to leave Ukraine under a wartime deal has had its cargo resold several times and there is now no information about its location and cargo destination.”

The Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni, which left Odesa on Aug. 1, and moved through the Black Sea carrying Ukrainian corn, later passed inspection in Turkey.

It was initially heading for Lebanon with 26,000 metric tons of corn for chicken feed. The corn’s buyer in Lebanon later refused to accept the cargo, since it was delivered much later than agreed.

The Razoni hasn’t had its tracker on for the last three days and it appeared off the east coast of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus at last transmission.

LONDON, 16 August 2022, (TON): The UK government is facing criticism over its failure to safeguard Afghan refugees who worked with coalition forces during the war in Afghanistan.

About 6,200 people along with their families are eligible for relocation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.

The ARAP scheme has brought more than 10,000 Afghans to the UK, and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will allow up to 20,000 to settle in the country.

However, as Western allies mark the one-year anniversary of NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, the UK faces accusations of abandoning many Afghans to persecution at the hands of Taliban.

RIYADH, 16 August 2022, (TON): Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Fahad Abualnasr received the charge d’affaires of the Thai Embassy in the Kingdom, Sathana Kashemsanta Na Ayudhya, in Riyadh.

The pair reviewed relations between their countries and discussed topics of common interest.

Abualnasr also met Francisco Chacón Hernández, Costa Rica’s non-resident ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

They reviewed diplomatic relations between the two countries and the latest developments of common concern.

In June, Abualnasr met Bahrain’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Shaikh Ali Abdulrahman bin Ali Al-Khalifa in Riyadh. They reviewed diplomatic relations and discussed topics of common interest.

By TON Sri Lanka

On July 9, Sri Lanka was undergoing a rebellion through people’s street power. Huge masses had forced the former President to quit. The Presidential palace, the Presidential Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s office were stormed, destroyed, and occupied with the burning of Prime Minister personal residence that housed thousands of books.

Astonishingly, the opposition in parliament even appealed to troops not to obey orders. The Western kept urging the government not to use force to stop the protesters while turning a blind eye to arson and vandalism indulged in by the so-called “peaceful protesters.”

The President fled to Singapore and resigned from there. Sri Lanka had had its first successful revolution, the media crowed, as previous attempts had failed in the past. The country was supposed to be on the beginning of a new drive of success. The media, both local and international, supported the vandalism and arson committed by the agitators.

However, for all that, the Aragalaya failed out within days. As the general masses were dismayed by the arson and lawlessness indulged in by the fundamental leadership of the movement. The Sri Lankan masses prefer to change governments occasionally but only through the ballot box. They have always opposed insurgences. The insurrections in 1962, 1971 and 1988-89 failed because of an absence of peoples’ support.

The former President fled because of popular pressure and lost fight against them. He issued no orders to the law and order machinery thus stopping it. The mobs had overrun of every government building they attacked because of the failure of the law enforcement agencies.

However Peace and normalcy was restored subsequently after the firm legally issued instructions by the incumbent president. The government machinery began to demonstrate a resolve to safeguard the constitutionally sanctioned order. The broad masses and the silent majority chose out of the struggle preferring orderly transfer of power to disorderly, chaotic and unplanned change. There ascended a deep gap between the peaceful majority and the politicized elite of Sri Lanka and their representatives in the media.

For most of the three-month “Go Home” movement, the agitators were peaceful, drawn as they were from the educated middle classes. Finally, radical political elements spear-headed by the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), penetrated the movement and took over the leadership which was responsible for the damage, burning, the attacking of government offices and the violent confrontations with the security forces.

The apolitical and non-violent demonstrators were persuaded into believing that the rough and vocal types were genuine radicals. Furthermore US interference in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka and repeated demand for restraint in dealing with the agitators while totally ignoring the arson and occupation of government offices by the latter.

When the new president took over the Presidency, the law and order situation changed drastically. He professed a State of Emergency and legally authorized the security forces to use all genuine methods to maintain law and order and defense the sanctity of government and private property. After the showed determination and willpower, the law and order machinery began to work.

Hundreds of trouble-makers were recognized and detained. This had a helpful effect on people who would have otherwise contributed in the chaos even if only for a bit of adventure. To bring the situation under control, president has had to address some critical issues. These were the shortage of essentials like fuel and foreign exchange and the IMF’s insistence that China should first reschedule the repayment of its loans to Sri Lanka before IMF finalizes its bailout package.

The President seems to addressing the shortages, though fuel is still in short supply for lack of foreign exchange. Sri Lanka is hopeful of getting some debt relief from China to enable the IMF to announce its bailout. At long last, China has indicated to Sri Lanka’s Ambassador that it could provide US$ 4 billion in loans at a low rate of interest and a long repayment period.

It has been alleged that the American envoy was a role in fomenting violence and it was considered to be part of a larger design to destabilize and dominate Sri Lanka.

DHAKA, 16 August 2022, (TON): The US Embassy in Dhaka on Monday paid tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The Embassy said "on the 47th anniversary of the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Father of the Nation, the US Embassy remembers his extraordinary life.”

Bangabandhu was one of the very first Bangladeshis to travel to the United States on the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program.

The Embassy said "we mourn this great loss.”

DHAKA, 16 August 2022, (TON): Rights activists yesterday urged the visiting UN human rights chief to impress upon the government the need for an independent commission to investigate extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

Around 20 rights activists met UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet at a city hotel in the morning, on the second day of her four-day visit.

One of the activists said "this was a strong recommendation. They [activists] stressed that the enquiry commission's investigation should be of international standard.”

On her first official visit to Bangladesh, Bachelet arrived in Dhaka on Sunday morning and held meetings with four top ministers.

DHAKA, 16 August 2022, (TON): Police yesterday arrested 12 Bangladeshis who tried to cross Indo-Bangla border without passports through Ali Nagar border in Moulvibazar's Kulaura upazila.

The law enforcers arrested them on suspicion of them being Rohingyas, but they later revealed that they were Bangladeshi nationals and that they were trying to return to Bangladesh from India.

Abdus Shalek, officer-in-charge of Kulaura Police Station, said a case was filed under the Passport Act against the arrestees.

KABUL, 16 August 2022, (TON): The acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, at a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Islamic Emirate's return to power, asked the world to cooperate with the current Afghan government.

Muttaqi said "we should all work together to take advantage of this opportunity, and the international community should cooperate with Afghanistan and the new government. In order to prevent the misery that occurred during the past 40 years that no one could stop, so not repeat it again. Here, every remedy has failed.”

While speaking at the ceremony, Muttaqi said that Afghanistan is no longer a battlefield of great powers and that Afghanistan’s territory has not been used against any country in the past twelve months.

DHAKA, 16 August 2022, (TON): The US Embassy in Dhaka on Monday paid tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The Embassy said "on the 47th anniversary of the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Father of the Nation, the US Embassy remembers his extraordinary life.”

Bangabandhu was one of the very first Bangladeshis to travel to the United States on the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program.

The Embassy said "we mourn this great loss.”

DHAKA, 16 August 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid rich tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, marking his 47th martyrdom anniversary and the National Mourning Day.

As part of the state program, the prime minister paid homage to the architect of the country’s independence by placing wreath at the portrait of Bangabandhu in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi Road No 32 in the capital.

After placing the wreath, she stood in solemn silence for some time to show profound respect to the great leader.

A smartly turned out contingent of Bangladesh Armed Forces gave a state salute at that time, while the bugle played a tune of grief and somber to the last post.