DHAKA, 05 August 2022, (TON): Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen has said “taking a new loan from China will not be a part of their agenda during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's upcoming Bangladesh visit.”

He said "this time, the issue of taking loan afresh isn't there at least.”

Asked what message this visit carries amid the crisis in various parts of the world, the foreign secretary said it will be known once the Chinese foreign minister comes.

"We are working on the visit. Things are yet to be finalized."

He reiterated that the visit is part of the Chinese side's routine visit to the region and also it is an opportunity to review the existing engagements between the two countries.

NEW DELHI, 05 August 2022, (TON): India successfully test-fired indigenously developed laser-guided anti-tank guided missiles at a military installation in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar.

The defence ministry said “the missiles destroyed the targets with precision at two different ranges.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the maker of the ATGMs, and the Indian Army on the successful trial of the weapon.

The ministry said "indigenously developed laser-Guided anti-tank guided missiles were successfully test-fired from Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun by the DRDO and Indian Army.”

The test firing of the missiles was carried out at KK Ranges in Ahmednagar with support from Armoured Corps Centre and School.

DHAKA, 05 August 2022, (TON): Bangladesh and the United States will further follow up the discussions that the two countries had over the last few months as US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Michele J Sison will visit Dhaka soon.

Dhaka’s demand for withdrawal of sanctions on elite force RAB and the Rohingya issue are also expected to be discussed during the visit.

Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen said “we have multi-faceted relationship with the United States,”

He added that many issues can be discussed.

He said “they are known to each other and will be able to have “free and frank” discussion on many issues.”

The US assistant secretary is currently visiting India as part of her tri-nation visit from August 2-10.

DHAKA, 05 August 2022, (TON): Bangladesh and China are likely to sign multiple memorandums of understanding and agreements during the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi beginning.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam yesterday said the planned MoUs and agreements would be aligned with Bangladesh’s cultural, social and economic policies.

Branding the ties between Bangladesh and China as deep and wide, he added that the two countries would discuss areas of future cooperation during the two-day visit of the Chinese minister and state councillor, amid growing tension over the Taiwan Straits and the Ukraine crisis.

Shahriar Alam said the Chinese foreign minister, scheduled to arrive at 11am tomorrow, would meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday morning, UNB reported.

DHAKA, 05 August 2022, (TON): Bangladesh has sought the European Union’s role to put pressure on Myanmar for early repatriation of the Rohingya community to their place of origin in the Rakhine State.

Bangladesh mentioned that the countries like the UK, US, Spain, Japan, Korea, and France are investing and doing even more trading with Myanmar.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen met high representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell Fontelles on the sidelines of the Asean Regional Forum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

During the meeting, he raised the Rohingya repatriation issue which has never seen any light for the past five years.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “Momen strongly sought the EU’s support in putting pressure on Myanmar to take back their nationals.”

By TON Sri Lanka

On Thursday China defended its massive infrastructure ventures and investments in crisis-hit Sri Lanka and said that they have “boosted” its economic development, amid criticism from the US of Beijing’s unproductive projects and opaque loan deals among the reasons for the country’s bankruptcy.

According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, China-Sri Lanka practical cooperation has always been led by Sri Lanka with scientific planning and thorough verification with no strings attached and china did not push Sri Lanka to financial bankruptcy.

Chinese projects have boosted Sri Lanka’s economic development, and brought tangible benefits to the Sri Lankan people,” he said while responding to a question on the criticism of China’s projects and policies towards Sri Lanka by the USAID administrator.

On Wednesday Speaking in New Delhi, she said India reacted “really swiftly” with an absolutely critical set of measures to help Sri Lanka tide over its economic crisis, but calls to China to provide significant relief have gone unanswered.

It is widely known that China became one of Sri Lanka’s “biggest creditors” offering often “opaque loan” deals at higher interest rates than other lenders and wondered whether Beijing would restructure the debt to help the island nation.

Refuting her allegations, the Chinese spokesperson said, there are multiple components to Sri Lanka’s foreign debt, where China-related debts take far less share than the international capital market and multilateral development banks. As China initiatives to build ports and other infrastructure across Asia and Africa, paid for with Chinese loans, is just for boosting trade.

As Sri Lanka’s 22 million people are in dire straits. Foreign currency ran out in April, leading to food shortages, power cuts, and protests that forced a prime minister to resign due to bankruptcy. Payment on $51 billion of debt to China, Japan, and other foreign lenders was suspended.

Besides what China provides for Sri Lanka almost preferential loans with low-interest rates and long terms, which have played a positive part in improving Sri Lanka’s infrastructure and livelihood. China’s unproductive projects in Sri Lanka, including the Hambantota port, which Beijing took over on a lease as a debt swap, have come under sharp criticism.

The unprecedented economic crisis faced by Sri Lanka has led to severe shortages of fuel, cooking gas and medicine and long lines for essential supplies, which led to massive anti-government protests and the ouster of President this month.

China, which accounts for 10 per cent of Sri Lanka’s debt, is reported to have resisted offering a debt cut. He also sought to blame the US policies including the interest rate hikes, unilateral sanctions and massive stimulus policies which had seriously impacted many developing countries like Sri Lanka.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman went on to say that the global economic and financial markets have taken a heavy toll as the US’s recent sudden interest rate hikes and balance sheet reduction has siphoned off dollars more rapidly, reverse from the long-running quantitative easing policy and irresponsible massive stimulus. Without referring to the Russia-Ukraine war, he also blamed the US sanctions.

The US’s unilateral sanctions and tariff barriers have undermined the security of industrial chains and have worsened the price surge of energy, food and other commodities. This has further aggravated the financial and economic situation of many developing countries, including Sri Lanka.

Opposition figures say while Sri Lanka needs China to reduce its debt, blame lies with leaders who built unrealistic projects that cannot pay for themselves while they failed to invest in economic development.

Foreign loans have been misused by making highways, airports and convention halls in the jungles which didn’t give any returns in foreign currency, a Chinese-built port in Hambantota in the southeast as a prime example of official recklessness.

It was built in the hometown of then-President and paid for with $1.1 billion in Chinese loans despite the plan having been rejected by an expert panel. Its promoters said Hambantota, on busy Indian Ocean shipping routes, would ease the burden on Sri Lanka’s main port in Colombo. However, it failed to generate foreign revenue

WASHINGTON, 04 August 2022, (TON): US officials believe Russia is working to fabricate evidence concerning last week’s deadly strike on prison housing prisoners of war in a separatist region of eastern Ukraine.

US intelligence officials have determined that Russia is looking to plant false evidence to make it appear that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the July 29 attack on Olenivka Prison that left 53 dead and wounded dozens more.

Russia has claimed that Ukraine’s military used US-supplied rocket launchers to strike the prison in Olenivka, a settlement controlled by the Moscow-backed Donetsk People’s Republic.

The Ukrainian military denied making any rocket or artillery strikes in Olenivka.

The intelligence arm of the Ukrainian defense ministry claimed in a statement to have evidence that local Kremlin-backed separatists colluded with the Russian FSB, the KGB’s main successor agency, and mercenary group Wagner to mine the barrack before using a flammable substance, which led to the rapid spread of fire in the room.”

RIYADH, 04 August 2022, (TON): Saudi Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Ambassador Dr. Saud Al-Sati received UK Ambassador to the Kingdom Neil Crompton on Wednesday in Riyadh.

During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations and ways to build upon them in all fields.

Crompton had a constructive meeting with Minister for Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef, in which they discussed ways to cooperate in mining and other sectors following Alkhorayef’s recent visit to the UK.

TAIPEI, 04 August 2022, (TON): China launched unprecedented live-fire military drills in six areas that ring Taiwan, a day after a visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as Chinese territory.

It said “soon after the scheduled start at 0400 GMT, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said the drills had begun and would end at 0400 GMT on Sunday. They would include live firing on the waters and in the airspace surrounding Taiwan.”

Taiwan officials have said the drills violate United Nations rules, invade Taiwan’s territorial space and are a direct challenge to free air and sea navigation.

Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party said “China is conducting drills on the busiest international waterways and aviation routes and that is “irresponsible, illegitimate behavior.”

ROME, 04 August 2022, (TON): A source familiar with the matter said “Italy’s tax police have seized assets worth over 141 million euros ($144 million) from an architect who has been linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

The tax police sent a statement earlier on Wednesday saying it had seized the assets from a “well-known professional” in Brescia, a town in northern Italy, citing alleged tax offenses. It declined to name the person when contacted by Reuters.

The source said the assets belonged to Lanfranco Cirillo, who had designed a grand estate on the Black Sea in Russia that became known as “Putin’s palace” after a businessman alleged the estate was built for Putin.

The Russian president has in the past denied any link to the luxury property.