DHAKA, 30 July 2022, (TON): Bangladesh and Uzbekistan have decided to take necessary steps to resume direct flights on the Dhaka -Tashkent route after 20 years.

The decision was taken in a meeting between Uzbekistan's Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodzaev and Bangladesh's Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen in the capital.

Besides, Uzbekistan has also decided to open an Embassy in Dhaka.

Foreign Minister Momen also insisted on resuming commercial flights between the two countries as before.

A code sharing method for operating flights between Bangladesh and Uzbekistan was also discussed in the meeting, so passengers can easily travel to their destinations.

KABUL, 30 July 2022, (TON): The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussed economic and trade ties between the two countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the Chinese minister expressed readiness to provide support to the Afghan traders as a substitute for the cultivation of poppy.

According to the statement “China will resume the visa-issuing process for the Afghans on August 1st.”

Ahmad Munib, an economist said "while the Chinese start practical investment in Afghanistan, it will provide job opportunities for our youth and will help the government boost its normal and development budget.”

DHAKA, 30 July 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said “Bangladesh is encouraging its investors to set up fertilizer factories in Uzbekistan under joint ventures.”

She said “this when Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations Jamshid Abdurakhimovich Khodjaev paid a courtesy call on her at the prime minister’s official residence Ganabhaban in Dhaka.”

In a media briefing, Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said the premier put emphasis on developing direct connectivity with Uzbekistan.

She said both Bangladesh and Uzbekistan should work together to explore many areas for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

DHAKA, 30 July 2022, (TON): Official sources said “Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is likely to visit Bangladesh first week of next month to discuss ways to further strengthen Dhaka-Beijing bilateral relations.”

The officials familiar with the development said “the visit is scheduled for August 6-7.”

The Chinese foreign minister is likely to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apart from his bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart AK Abdul Momen to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues.

The visit is taking place amid geopolitical tensions and conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

DHAKA, 30 July 2022, (TON): The 2022 Investment Climate Statements, prepared by the United States Department of State, was released to help US companies make informed decisions about doing business in Bangladesh or 160 other countries and economies across the world.

A press release said “the Bangladesh Country Commercial Guide, published by the International Trade Association under the US Department of Commerce, details challenges a company may encounter while doing business in Bangladesh.”

The guide also describes the substantial opportunities in nine sectors of frequent interest to US firms.

The newly published two reports covered market conditions and how governments uphold international labour standards, enable responsible business conduct, combat corruption, and implement policies to mitigate and adapt to the effects of the climate crisis.

By Usman Khan

Sri Lanka’s new President had sought the top job of presidency for long. Now he has to find methods to evade the doom of his precursor. As he fends off protesters who’re angry about persistent food and fuel shortages. The veteran politician was sworn in last week after months of escalated protests, forcing former leader to escape to Singapore and quit.

The incumbent prime minster, 73, is should now concentrate on settling a bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). And also to get dollars from friendly nations to bring an end shortages of vital items that have hindered economic actions and pushed price rises near to 70%.

He’s also looking for to quash well-organized street demonstrations. The new president has placed Sri Lanka under emergency rule which allows security forces to detain and capture the people. Early on Friday, just a day after he was sworn in, prime minster sent in the military and police to clear a key demonstration site, leading to stressed scenes.

The PM said last week to the media that he was not an ally of former president and his family, who ruined the nation through their economic debacle. They are extensively considered as responsible for a series of slipups that led to the country’s economic collapse.

Yet, the PM has benefited from their glitches. He progressed from being a lawmaker to prime minister and then acting president in less than three months on the request of former president when protests escalated which compelled him and his brother, former premier to step down.

The incumbent Prime minster eventually won the presidency with the support of former’s ruling party in parliament after two unsuccessful electoral efforts at the top job in a career that has spanned five decades.

The prime minster had pledged to form an all-party government. However so far, he has amassed his 18-member cabinet with lawmakers from the SLPP and former president allies. Only two lawmakers from the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya party are in the government.

The incumbent PM has kept the finance and defense portfolios, giving him an extra edge to talk with the IMF. It also permits him to keep an eye on the powerful military as it enforces emergency rule.

Many in the opposition have called for early general elections, saying the government doesn’t reflect the will of the people. Opposition leader who met with prime minster was a contender for the prime minister’s job, said he would rather see parliament committees supported than cabinet posts dished out to “political opportunists.”

The new prime minster is keeping an eye on the protesters and pledging harsh action against those who attack the residences and offices of the prime minister and president in July. Aside from emergency rule, he has called on the army to uphold public order. Security forces, acting on a court’s instruction, have cleared a major oceanfront demonstration site close to the presidential secretariat.

The new government has offered an alternative protest site, but it remains to be seen whether the demonstrators will take this up or not. It’s also not instantly clear if news of some easing up of food and fuel supplies will influence the impetus of the street protests. Still, leaders of the protest movement have vowed not to back down from their demand for prime minister’s resignation.

The new president has said the island nation is near to a settlement talks with the IMF for a bailout program and made progress in “discussions for assistance” with foreign countries. As finance minister he will lead those talks together with the central bank. The IMF Managing Director recently disclose that talks with Sri Lanka could proceed “quite quickly” as soon as a new government is in place.

Prime minister’s administration will have to implement further tough economic measures to raise more revenue and trim expenditure, to put the country’s finances on a more maintainable footing. This will inevitably make the new government fairly unpopular.

Both the IMF and the new prime minster will have to look at keeping the social safety net in place given the acute shortages of essential items in the country. “Just raising taxes is senseless. What they have to focus on is that poverty lines don’t further worsen.

The new PM has promised to follow the planned constitutional amendments to trim the powers of the presidency. This is a key demand from demonstrators and lawmakers who say the sweeping powers of the executive led to mistakes in the Rajapaksa administration.

For now, the incumbent prime minster is using the powers of his position to quickly appoint a new government and rein in the demonstrations to safeguard political constancy and ease the path for talks with the IMF. However, prime minster is pro-reform and prioritizes the supremacy of parliament, proposing he will push on with limiting the executive presidency eventually.

The PM will be able to build more reliability with the public if he brings the suggestions for change to the legislature rapidly. Seeing the 22nd amendment already is on the table. The tasks of New Sri Lankan President are manifold. He may use reforms also to show the protesters and opposition that under his watch something will move and progress. 

WASHINGTON, 29 July 2022, (TON): The White House said “President Joe Biden’s upcoming call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping will focus on areas of potential cooperation between the U.S. and China, even as diplomatic relations between the two nations are fraught with tension over Russia, intellectual property disputes and, even, espionage.”

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said “there is an awful lot in the bilateral relationship between the United States and China for these two leaders to talk about.”

As rising tensions between Washington and Beijing dominated news headlines, Kirby insisted that there was an inherent value in holding a call, even if Biden and Xi did not resolve any of their myriad issues of disagreement.

Kirby said “that’s the key thing: The president wants to make sure the lines of communication with President Xi remain open, because they need to.”

MOSCOW, 29 July 2022, (TON): Moscow’s former chief rabbi now living in exile in Israel warned Thursday of “dark clouds on the horizon” for Russian Jews, as ties between the two countries deteriorate over the Ukraine war.

Pinchas Goldschmidt, who left Russia in March over opposition to the conflict, told “the Jewish community was pressured… to openly support the war. Our community did not support the war.”

He said “the situation is worrying” and there are “many dark clouds on the horizon” for Russian Jews.”

He added that their “security and futureis dependent on Israel-Russia relations.”

Israel has been trying to walk a cautious line in order to maintain ties with Moscow seen as crucial to preserving the Jewish state’s ability to carry out air strikes in neighbouring Syria, where Russian forces are present.

MANILA, 29 July 2022, (TON): US secretary of the Navy said “any Asian aggressor who violates the sovereignty of other countries in the region risks punitive counter actions, just like what Russia is confronting now for its invasion of Ukraine.”

Carlos Del Toro told “the Associated Press in an interview Tuesday night in Manila that the US military focus in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in the disputed South China Sea, would never slacken and in fact has intensified despite the war in Ukraine.”

He did not name China but underscored that Beijing has encroached in sovereign waters of its Asian neighbors and violated international law with impunity.

He renewed assurances by President Joe Biden that the US would honor its obligations under a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty in case Philippine forces, ships and aircraft come under attack in the disputed South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have had increasingly tense territorial spats in the last decade.

JERUSALEM, 29 July 2022, (TON): Israeli officials are trying to tamp down the diplomatic fracas that has erupted in recent weeks as Moscow has sought to dissolve the Jewish Agency’s Russian branch, an organization that helps Jews emigrate to Israel.

Senior Journalist Anthony Harper yelling out his question to Mr Kirby regarding Israel

The Jerusalem-based Jewish Agency for Israel encourages and assists Jews, both logistically and financially, who may wish to one day emigrate to Israel. Under Israel’s ‘Law of Return’  anyone who is Jewish or can prove they have at least one Jewish grandparent is eligible for Israeli citizenship.

Thousands of Ukrainian and Russian Jewish immigrants have moved to Israel since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, underscoring the particular role the organization can play at a time of war.