DHAKA, 06 June 2022, (TON): The prime minister made this remark while secretary general of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Esala Ruwan Weerakun and his wife paid a courtesy call on her at the latter’s official residence, Ganabhaban.

PM’s press secretary, Ihsanul Karim, briefed the newsmen after the meeting.

The prime minister said “we, the countries in this region, should cooperate with each other. Many problems can be solved bilaterally.”

She said “when Bangladesh’s founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, visited Kolkata after the Liberation War, he floated the idea of regional cooperation there in his speech.”

The SAARC secretary general stressed the need to strengthen the SAARC food bank. He highly praised Bangladesh for its contribution to the SAARC Agriculture Centre.

DHAKA, 06 June 2022, (TON): The 10th edition of the joint military drill between India and Bangladesh begun in Jashore as several platoons of the Indian Army reached Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh Inter-Services Public Relations did not issue any release on the joint drill but confirmed the event.

The Indian High Commission posted a photo on their social media and said that their army contingent arrived in Bangladesh to participate in the 10th edition of India-Bangladesh Joint Military Exercise in Jashore between June 5 and 16.

It said “the exercise focused on counter-terrorism and disaster relief operations.”

The Indian Ministry of Defence on their website in a press release said “Exercise Sampriti is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour conducted alternately by both countries which aims to strengthen and widen the aspects of interoperability and cooperation between both the armies.”

KABUL, 06 June 2022, (TON): In response to the US State Department report on religious freedom, which noted that there was a clear violation of religious freedoms in Afghanistan, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated “the religious and civil rights of all minorities in Afghanistan are protected.”

Mujahid tweeted, June 5th, that the State Department’s report findings on Afghanistan with respect to the religious freedom is incomplete and based on false information.

He wrote on his official twitter handle “all our Sunnis, Shiites, Sikhs and Hindus practice their religion freely.”

According to the State Department, this year has seen gross violation of religious freedom in China, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Myanmar, and India.

DHAKA, 06 June 2022, (TON): Officials said “at least 49 people died and hundreds were injured after a fire that sparked a huge chemical explosion and was still blazing on Sunday at a shipping container depot in Bangladesh.”

The toll was expected to rise with some of the more than 300 people injured in a serious condition.

Volunteers, some with only flip flops on their feet, brought bodies from the smouldering, wreckage-strewn facility, saying there were more inside.

The fire started late at the huge depot in Sitakunda storing around 4,000 containers, many of them filled with garments destined for Western retailers, about 40 kilometres from the major southern port of Chittagong.

Then containers holding chemicals exploded, engulfing firefighters, journalists and others in an inferno, hurtling people and debris through the air, turning the night sky a blazing orange and rattling buildings kilometres away.

DHAKA, 06 June 2022, (TON): Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has urged the expatriate Bangladeshis to be vigilant against the elements those have been engaged in conducting anti-Bangladesh campaign with disinformation on the foreign soils.

A foreign ministry press release said “he made the call when speaking at a reception hosted by Sweden Awami League on his honour in Stockholm.”

The foreign minister said his ministry has already enriched all Bangladesh missions abroad with adequate information and true facts and figures regarding tremendous socio-economic success of the country.

He said “the missions have been disseminating those information through public diplomacy.”

DHAKA, 06 June 2022, (TON): State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Mohammad Enamur Rahman has said “the World Bank will provide Taka 255 crore as food aid to the Rohingya refugees.”

He said "under the agreement, the WFP will provide food assistance to the Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar through the 'Safety Net System for the Poorest' which is being funded by the World Bank.”

A press release said “the state minister told the newsmen after signing an agreement with WFP at the ministry's conference room in the Secretariat here.”

According to the release “he mentioned that the project is expected to reduce anti-social crimes and increase awareness among the Rohingya refugees.”

By Usman Khan

The Post-coup violence has put more than one million people displaced in Myanmar amid fighting rages which is producing perilous results for these people. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), almost 700,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since the collapse of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government on February 1, 2021.

The Civilian militias are fighting against the overthrow of crossways the country, and the military government is replying with assaults razing villages, mass extrajudicial killings, and air attacks on civilians.

These also include those who have been affected by long-running conflicts with ethnic rebel groups along with the Thai and Chinese borders, and a large number of Rohingya Muslims also forced to flee from their homes during a brutal 2017 crackdown against them.

Since the coup, more than 12,000 civilian properties are assessed to have been burned or destroyed with the approaching monsoon rains menacing more misery and plight for those living in displacement camps. More than 300,000 of those displaced since the coup were from the northwestern Sagaing region alone, where civilian fighters clash regularly with the military.

In May 2021 in Kayah State, a charitable crisis has been renewed as armed conflict broke with six of the state’s seven townships now affected by intense fighting, tens of thousands of people have been forced to escape their homes. Some have sought security at places of worship and community centers, while others are hiding in the suburbs and jungle.

Across Myanmar, regular clashes and skirmishes are occurring between the Myanmar Armed Forces, ethnic and other local armed groups, followed by waves of fresh displacement. Since the military takeover on 1 February 2021, some 440,000 people have been forced to flee due to airstrikes, shelling, and burning of villages, more than half of them in the south-east of the country, with Kayah and Kayin States which have been the worst affected.

The Humanitarian access in many parts of Myanmar remains restricted due to insecurity, roadblocks and challenges in obtaining access approvals. As a result, host communities and local responders continue to play a leading role in assisting displaced populations demonstrating solidarity with the displaced persons.

The junta authorities had already cut off the mobile data services across much of Sagaing and neighboring Magway in a bid to stop their access to the world. The area is a hotspot for regime brutalities and there are “severe restrictions and blockades” which badly affect the transport of rice, medicine, and fuel to the affected people. There remains a dire need for health services, food, relief items, and shelter in these areas. Efforts to end the crisis are becoming declining with the passage of time due to the inhuman attitude of the Myanmar army.

An “agreement” was made last year by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which aimed to facilitate the dialogue between the military and its opponents in order to deliver humanitarian aid. However, which has been largely ignored by the military government which wants to use it as an economic barrier to its opponents in a bid to suppress them from starvation.

In March, military government chief Senior General said the military would “annihilate until the end its opponents”. More than 1,800 people have been killed and nearly 13,000 arrested in the military’s crackdown due to civilian rebellion since the coup beside it, more than 100 journalists have been arrested to contain the freedom of the press.

On Friday, a court in Myanmar punished previous leader Aung San Suu Kyi with five years in jail after finding her guilty in the first of 11 corruption cases against her for supposedly accepting gold and money payments totaling $600,000. However, she has denied the charges and called the allegations “ridiculous and fabricated”.

All these precarious conditions affected Myanmar and demanded the international community to help and protect them. There is a question if NATO can attack on mainly Muslim countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria on lame excuses to pursue its agenda then why the US lead NATO cannot interfere in to Myanmar to save the civilians from the barbarity of the Myanmar regime.

KHARTOUM, 05 June 2022, (TON): A UN human rights expert on Sudan called on Saturday for accelerated investigations into killings of protesters and other atrocities, as the death toll since last year’s coup nears 100.

Sudan has been rocked by deepening unrest and a violent crackdown against near-weekly mass protests since army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan’s power grab on October 25 derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule.

Adama Dieng told reporters “it is simply unacceptable that 99 people have been killed and more than 5,000 injured as a result of excessive use of force by the joint security forces.”

He called on authorities to expedite investigations into the killings of protesters.

He said “a probe set up by Sudanese authorities has confirmed “four cases of sexual violence” during the protests.”

LONDON, 05 June 2022, (TON): Jordan’s King Abdullah II discussed “the situation in the Palestinian territories with French President Emmanuel Macron, where he reiterated the need to end unilateral Israeli actions that undermine peace prospects.”

The kingdom’s state agency reported “speaking during a phone call, the two sides also held talks on ways to expand bilateral cooperation, especially in areas related to food security, and regional development.”

Petra added “the Jordanian monarch congratulated Macron on his re-election and wished him success in leading his country to greater progress and prosperity.”

Meanwhile, Macron also held a call with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the latest political developments in the occupied territories, and ways to strengthen relations between France and Palestine and with the European Union as France holds presidency of the EU council.

JAKARTA, 05 June 2022, (TON): Indonesia is aiming to finalize the setup of a global fund for pandemic preparedness, the health ministry said “ahead of a meeting of G20 Health Ministers later this month.”

Indonesia, which holds the presidency of the Group of 20 biggest economies this year, has been pushing for the establishment of a financial intermediary fund, or FIF, aimed at addressing financing gaps for pandemic preparedness, prevention and action.

G20 countries had provisionally agreed to set up the multibillion-dollar fund in April. Indonesia said the new mechanism will likely be housed at the World Bank and is aiming to finalize details before a meeting of G20 health ministers scheduled on June 20-21.