DHAKA, 05 July 2022, (TON): Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen put emphasis on concluding the Bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement with Indonesia which is under negotiations.

He stressed on further expanding and accelerating the scope of trade and investment tapping into the unexplored potentials by the business communities of the two countries.

A press release said “the foreign minister made the remarks while newly appointed Indonesian ambassador to Bangladesh Heru Hartanto Subolo called on him at foreign ministry here.”

During the meeting, Dr Momen specifically emphasized on having a better balance of bilateral trade by allowing more Bangladeshi products, including RMG, pharmaceuticals, leather goods into the Indonesian market.

NEW DELHI, 05 July 2022, (TON): Australia’s resources minister said “Australia and India agreed to a partnership to strengthen their co-operation in developing critical metal projects and supply chains.”

Demand for critical metals like lithium and cobalt has soared in recent times due to their usage in electric vehicles amid a global push towards cleaner sources of energy to tackle climate change.

At the same time, countries like the United States, Australia and India are pushing to develop new sources of critical minerals to counteract China’s dominance over those supply chains.

Minister Madeleine King said Australia would commit A$5.8 million towards a three-year investment partnership, while signing an agreement between critical minerals firm Khanij Bidesh India Ltd and the Critical Minerals Facilitation Office of Australia.

NEW YORK, 04 July 2022, (TON): The New York state passed a law banning guns at many public places, including Times Square, and requiring gun-licence applicants to prove their shooting proficiency and submit their social media accounts for review.

The law, passed in an emergency legislative session, was forced by a landmark US Supreme Court ruling last week that struck down New York’s restrictive gun-licence laws.

The court’s conservative majority ruled for the first time that the US Constitution grants an individual the right to carry weapons in public for self-defence.

New York’s Democratic leaders have decried the ruling and the court, saying there will be more gun violence if there are more people carrying guns.

BEIRUT, 04 July 2022, (TON): A maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel has returned to the fore following a security development on Saturday night.

Israel’s army spokesman Avichay Adraee said warplanes and an Israeli missile ship had intercepted three drones that approached from Lebanon’s side toward the airspace over Israel’s economic waters.

Hezbollah’s military wing, the Islamic Resistance, confirmed the incident in a statement “a group affiliated with martyrs Jamil Skaff and Mahdi Yaghi launched three drones of different sizes toward the disputed area, over the Karish gas field, to carry out reconnaissance missions. The mission was accomplished and the message was conveyed.”

Lebanon mostly stayed silent on the development, although caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said there was a possibility of reaching an agreement on the border issue in September and that information from the US and UN showed there was progress in the negotiations.

BEIJING, 04 July 2022, (TON): A Chinese attack on Taiwan is not imminent, the top US general says, but the US is watching very closely.

China is clearly developing the capability to attack at some point, but deciding to do so would be a political choice, Gen Mark Milley told media.

China said “Taiwan is a breakaway province that must be re-unified with the mainland, by force if necessary.”

It has accused the US of supporting Taiwan's independence, and vowed to resolutely crush any such attempt.

KYIV, 04 July 2022, (TON): Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged more military aid to Ukraine after visiting the war-torn nation's capital.

The prime minister met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv during a surprise trip.

He earlier toured the devastated towns of Bucha and Irpin, describing what he saw as a war crime.

The aid package, worth 100m Australian dollars ($68m; £56m), includes drones and 34 additional armoured vehicles.

Mr Albanese also announced sanctions and travel bans on a further 16 Russian ministers and oligarchs and an end to imports of Russian gold.

He says “he saw first-hand the devastation and trauma inflicted on Ukraine on his visit.

VISBY, 04 July 2022, (TON): Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson refused to deny Turkey’s claim that it had promised to deport individuals sought by Ankara as part of Stockholm’s efforts to join NATO.

Despite questioning by journalists and concerns among Kurdish and Turkish refugees in Sweden, Andersson would not say whether such a commitment had been given to Ankara for it to lift objections to Sweden’s membership.

She added “I’ve been a minister for eight years and I never talked about what is said in the negotiation room.”

She said “actually puts me in a bit of a difficult situation right now.”

In an agreement signed by Stockholm and Helsinki at a NATO summit in Madrid, the two Nordic countries agreed to examine Turkish extradition requests expeditiously and thoroughly.”

No promise has been given to actually carry out the extraditions, and Finland and Sweden have since recalled that the process is in the hands of the authorities and independent courts.

RIYADH, 04 July 2022, (TON): Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir met Suriname Foreign Minister Albert R. Ramdin in the capital Paramaribo.

Al-Jubeir, who is also the Kingdom’s climate envoy, met Ramdin on the sidelines of the Caribbean Community leaders’ meeting. Known as CARICOM, the intergovernmental organization is made up of 15 member states throughout the Caribbean.

During the meeting, both parties discussed regional and international issues of common interest and ways to strengthen bilateral relations.

The Saudi minister’s visit to the South American country came at the invitation of Ramdin to attend the CARICOM meeting.

BUCHAREST, 04 July 2022, (TON): Gas now flows to Romania from a new Black Sea platform operating in waters where mines and warships have been spotted.

The dangerous reminders of the war raging nearby in Ukraine underscore Romania’s determination to cut its reliance on Russian natural gas imports.

With fears growing across the European Union that Moscow will cut gas shipments in retaliation for EU support to Ukraine, countries are scrambling to find alternative supplies.

Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said “Romania is taking a decisive step to ensure its energy security at a time when international gas supplies are threatened by the war in Ukraine.”

While Romania has significant reserves on land and at sea, it still has to turn to Russia in winter to cover around 20 percent of its consumption.

KYIV, 04 July 2022, (TON): At least three people were killed and dozens of residential buildings damaged in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukraine border, the regional governor said, after reports of several blasts in the city.

At least 11 apartment buildings and 39 private houses were damaged, including five that were destroyed, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov posted on the Telegram messaging app.

Gladkov said “incident was being investigated, “presumably, the air defense system worked.”

Gladkov said “at least four people were injured and two hospitalized, including a 10-year-old boy.”

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine to the reports.