DHAKA, 23 July 2022, (TON): Dutch Ambassador to Bangladesh Anne van Leeuwen has described the coming years and decades as very promising in terms of cooperation with Bangladesh with the larger involvement of the private sector keeping in mind the transition from aid to trade.

While delivering his keynote speech on ‘Bangladesh-Netherlands Relations: Prognosis for the Future’ he identified the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in Bangladesh and laid emphasis on addressing those to move towards a brighter future on a win-win basis.

“So we are seeing the coming years and even decades very, very promising for a closer cooperation in the field of agri-food and water management with a larger involvement of the private sector” Ambassador Leeuwen said.

DHAKA, 23 July 2022, (TON): Bangladeshis were found to be the highest number of irregular migrants reaching the shores of Italy in the first six months of this year.

Of the 28,405 irregular migrants, there were a total of 4,606, who were followed by Egyptians, Tunisians, and Afghans.

Italian Ambassador to Bangladesh Enrico Nunziata revealed this information at a view-exchange meeting organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The meeting was held on "Tackling Human Trafficking and Safe Migration" at Shariatpur municipality auditorium.

Shariatpur is one of the most trafficking-prone areas from where a lot of Bangladeshis take risky journeys to Italy through the Mediterranean.

By Ammara Farooq

The 9th of July become a momentous day in the records of Sri Lankan politics because the protesters broke into President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s workplace and house and forced him to announce his resignation. Although after the election of new President things seem improving but a critical analysis is important.

Why the Rajapaksa regime had to cease?

Notwithstanding the worsening of the monetary crisis over the last few months, the Sri Lankan President selected to comfortable his function as President by way of using the military to keep the protestors at bay instead of addressing the foundation troubles of the crisis. There has been a risk in this exercise and it simply failed, as protesters took over the President’s house and office and the high Minister’s workplace. The President was hoping for a fast answer by recruiting a liberal democrat, Prime Minister Wickremasinghe—who is the contemporary President of Sri Lanka after Gotabaya Rajapaksa took shelter inside the Maldives.

The financial disaster has induced more than one social issue and has led to an eruption of violence.

The kingdom had come to a screeching halt because it faced fuel and food shortages; a two-week shutdown turned into introduced for authorities workplaces and faculties. The monetary disaster has induced multiple social worries and has caused an eruption of violence. Some weeks ago squaddies fired pictures into the air to manipulate the state of affairs at a gas station in Sri Lanka as tensions flared up. Six policemen had been injured at another gasoline station. Extra forty homes of parliamentarians had been burnt via protesters last month. Even though the protests had been taking a turn for the more severe, the newly appointed prime Minister turned into extra focused on rebuilding houses for parliamentarians in place of addressing the meals crisis and deteriorating economic conditions. The Rajapaksa political strategist Basil Rajapaksa, the former Finance Minister, resigned from political office, paving way for casino owner, Dammika Perera to take his parliamentary seat. Hence indicating that political favoritism endured regardless of the protests. A robust caution became also launched through Wimal Weerawansa pronouncing if protest needs aren't taken severely, the following attack will target the United States’s prosperous class. “They may attack anyone the usage of luxurious vehicles and people residing in luxurious houses that is the inevitable future if the authorities continues gambling games with the crises,”—a caution directed towards a likely complete-blown insurrection because of the dire humanitarian crisis. With the army inside the leading edge, a couple of arrests of protestors and essential opposition parties boycotting the Parliament, the disaster in Sri Lanka is regularly getting out of manipulate.

Power and energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera stated in a message on Twitter that petrol prices could growth through 20-24% at the same time as diesel charges would raise with the aid of 35-38% with instantaneous effect. Each day limits on how much each client can buy will preserve. "The government will hold talks with transport region stakeholders to growth fees parallel to the modern day will increase," he later stated in an internet cupboard briefing. Gasoline and delivery fee will increase will unavoidably flow via to food and other items, economists said. Annual inflation in the island country rose to a report 33.eight% in April compared with 21.five% in March, in keeping with government statistics released on Monday. Sri Lanka is within the throes of its worst monetary disaster due to the fact independence in 1948, as a dire scarcity of foreign exchange has stalled imports and left the country quick of fuel and medicines, and suffering with rolling electricity cuts.

The monetary trouble has come from the confluence of the COVID-19 pandemic battering the tourism-reliant financial system, growing oil prices, and populist tax cuts through the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Mahinda, who resigned as top minister this month. Wijesekera mentioned individuals could be advocated to make money working from home "to minimize using fuel and to manage the power disaster", and that public quarter officials might work from their workplaces handiest whilst advised with the aid of the head in their establishments. However, hybrid running models have brought about will increase in energy intake in different nations, together with in neighbouring India. Economists have stated gas and strength price hikes might be essential to plug a large hole in Sri Lanka's government revenues, but agreed that it might cause quick-time period pain.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) disaster has dealt a great shock to Sri Lanka’s economy and those. This notice examines the anticipated effect on poverty and inequality amid good sized job and income losses and at the same time as poverty turned into distinctly low in Sri Lanka prior to the pandemic, pre-present vulnerabilities was excessive, partially because of excessive levels of informality. Many people do not have get admission to employment protection or other job-associated social protection benefits, making them prone during instances of economic crisis. Livelihoods assist programs and numerous relief measures applied via the authorities over the path of the pandemic are predicted to have mitigated the labor market surprise. Inequality is predicted to boom inside the short run because of the unequal distribution of the shock. Furthermore, decreased social mobility as a result of widening disparities in get admission to schooling as an example ought to growth inequality inside the long time. Coverage measures ought to intention to strike a balance between those who aid a resilient recuperation and people that aim to encompass the most inclined within the healing manner. Attaining this stability will assist reverse the impact of the pandemic and mitigate its outcomes for inequality. Shifting toward a greater adaptive social safety machine might allow a great deal needed guide to be scaled up quickly and efficiently in times of disaster.

An outline of the economy of Sri Lanka, getting into 2022, the financial system of Sri Lanka is going thru havoc in which there has been a debt spillover and the price of inflation has skyrocketed at 15.10 percentage in the month of February 2022. Sri Lanka has handiest about $2.31 billion left of their foreign currency reserves, and that they need to pay general debt reimbursement of as a whole lot as US greenbacks 7 billion (consists of: $1 billion bond adulthood) within the year 2022 (source: Bloomberg). The scenario is virtually terrible and the humans accessible in Sri Lanka are distressed. The Sri Lankan, government has a twofold undertaking of managing remote places debt and they also need to meet their domestic demand. The contemporary account deficit (CAD) of Sri Lanka anticipated for the ongoing monetary year is $2,450 million (assets: buying and selling Economics). The query now arises is that what went wrong with the financial system of Sri Lanka? Their economic system is heavily reliant on tourism industry which has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. The tourism income of Sri Lanka went down by using 96 in step with cent. In 2019, Sri Lanka had earned $3.6 billion, which has dropped right down to only $141 million in 2021. at the side of that, the low quantity of waft from employee remittances has also squeezed their countrywide earnings. Furthermore, a shortage folk’s greenback in Sri Lanka has caused a ripple impact on the charges of maximum of the commodities which include meals objects and raw substances. Even earlier than the pandemic, Sri Lanka’s debt spiral became already on an unsustainable path.

WASHINGTON, 22 July 2022, (TON): The US and allies committed more rocket systems, ammunition and other military aid to Ukraine, as American defense leaders said “they see the war to block Russian gains in the eastern Donbas region grinding on for some time.”

Speaking at the close of a virtual meeting with about 50 defense leaders from around the world, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said “it will be hard work to keep allies and partners all committed to the war effort as the months drag on.”

Austin said “we’re pushing hard to maintain and intensify the momentum of donations.”

“This will be an area of focus for the foreseeable future, as it should be, in terms of how long our allies and partners will remain committed. There’s no question that this will always be hard work making sure that we maintain unity.”

JERUSALEM, 22 July 2022, (TON): An official said “Israel’s military censors have lifted a ban on reporting the country’s use of armed drones, ending an open secret by admitting that the armed forces have unmanned attack aircraft and have used them.”

Palestinians have accused Israel of using armed drones in targeted killings in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, something never confirmed by Israel, which had previously barred all publication of news on the issue.

There have also been numerous international news reports of Israeli drones attacking targets in Lebanon and Iran, which have never been confirmed officially by Israel.

A statement from the military censor said that after consideration of the issue, it was found that there was no impediment to publishing the IDF’s use of armed UAVs as part of its operational activities.

BRUSSELS, 22 July 2022, (TON): Belgian MPs voted Wednesday to ratify a fiercely-criticised treaty allowing prisoner exchanges with Iran, potentially opening the way for an Iranian diplomat jailed on terrorism charges to return home.

After two days of rowdy debate, parliament voted by 79 to 41 to back the agreement. The treaty had already won approval from a parliamentary commission on July 6.

Critics of the deal, both Belgians and members of an exiled Iranian opposition movement, say Belgium is backing down in the face of what is in effect hostage-taking by Tehran.

But Prime Minister Alexander de Croo's government argues it is the only route possible to free a Belgian already held in Iran, jailed aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele.

WASHINGTON, 22 July 2022, (TON): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to Istanbul, a UN spokesperson said as United Nations and Turkish officials seek to get a deal with Russia and Ukraine in writing to resume Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports.

deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq told “the situation remains a little bit fluid, so I can’t really say when something will be signed.”

“We’re not quite there yet.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said “he was hopeful about reaching a deal and that talks were going well.”

Ankara said a general agreement was reached on a UN-led plan during talks in Istanbul last week and that it wants to put this into writing this week.

KHARTOUM, 22 July 2022, (TON): The World Bank has released $100 million for the World Food Programme to tackle deep food insecurity for 2 million people in Sudan, where aid was suspended following an October coup.

The bank said in a statement “the funds will help provide an emergency safety net amid worsening hunger in the northeast African nation “caused by a poor harvest and rising international food prices.”

Grain prices surged earlier this year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The bank said “the funds will be channeled solely through the WFP to scale up the food security response and provide direct support to the most vulnerable people of Sudan.”

OUAGADOUGOU, 22 July 2022, (TON): The commander of French anti-extremist force Barkhane, General Laurent Michon, accused “mercenaries from Russian group Wagner of preying on Mali.

French-Malian relations started to nosedive after a military coup ousted Mali’s elected president in August 2020.

The junta snubbed French appeals for an early return to civilian rule and then turned to Russian military operatives “mercenaries” from the pro-Kremlin Wagner group, in France’s view to help its anti-extremist fight.

Michon spoke as French forces finalize a withdrawal from Mali, bringing out military equipment via neighboring Niger.

He alleged “the mining code in Mali has changed and now a certain number of measures have been taken to exploit three gold sites for Wagner.”

DHAKA, 22 July 2022, (TON): Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh Essa Yousef Essa Alduhailan has said the investors of his country are keen to invest in Bangladesh.

The ambassador paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.

He briefed the foreign minister about investment initiatives taken by Saudi investors in Bangladesh.

Ambassador Essa Yousef said “to facilitate more investment from Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh, joint sincere efforts are needed.”

Momen thanked the ambassador for his dynamic role in strengthening relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. He also appreciated the political and humanitarian support of the Saudi Arabia government for Rohingyas.