DHAKA, 30 May 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said “Bangladesh is ready to send more troops to the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions as the country is committed to playing a stronger role in the establishment of world peace.”

She said “if more troops are needed, we are ready to send the required number of peacekeepers in response to the call of the UN.”

The prime minister was addressing a program of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers 2022, held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka, through a videoconference from her official residence Ganabhaban.

She said “we are committed to playing a stronger role in the establishment of world peace, keeping in view ‘People Peace Progress: the Power of Partnership’ the theme of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers-2022.”

NEW DELHI, 30 May 2022, (TON): The US embassy on Sunday night said “it will resume routine in-person tourist visa appointments from September.”

It tweeted "the US Mission to India is pleased to announce that we are resuming routine in-person tourist visa appointments in September 2022. Previously scheduled placeholders have now been cancelled.”

It added "applicants whose placeholder appointments were cancelled may now reenter the scheduling system to book regular appointments.”

KABUL, 30 May 2022, (TON): Qatar has urged the west to step up its engagement with the Taliban, warning that failure to do so would risk Afghanistan falling into deeper chaos and a rise in extremism.

Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told the Financial Times that maintaining the status quo where the west is boycotting Afghanistan, and just focusing on part of the humanitarian activities through the international agencies was not going to keep Afghanistan intact.

Sheikh Mohammed said “we will see maybe a rise of extremism. We will start to see an economic crisis, which has already started, and this will just drive the people to more radicalisation and conflict.”

He said “this is what we are trying to avoid.”

Qatar is one of the few countries to have relations with the Taliban and it has been the main facilitator of talks between the US, its European allies and the Islamists.

DHAKA, 30 May 2022, (TON): The next round of Joint Consultation Commission (JCC) meeting between Bangladesh and India is likely to be held on June 19 which will help both the countries to prepare grounds for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s planned visit to New Delhi this year.

The JCC meeting was originally scheduled to be held in New Delhi but it has been deferred as some preparatory works remain pending.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, now attending the third edition of Asian Confluence River Conclave-2022 in Guwahati, confirmed the deferral of the meeting while talking to reporters.

Momen also hinted that the JCC meeting is likely to be held on June 19.

He had a meeting with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in Guwahati on Friday evening and discussed issues of mutual interest. Later, they decided to defer the meeting of the JCC.

DHAKA, 30 May 2022, (TON): The cross-border train services between Bangladesh and India have resumed after nearly two years of suspension due to the pandemic.

The Indian High Commission in Dhaka made the announcement on Twitter.

The Maitree Express service between Dhaka-Kolkata started its journey at 8:15am from Dhaka Cantonment Railway Station.

The immigration process at the station was completed by 7:30am for as many as 456 passengers, reports Bangla Tribune.

On the other hand, the Kolkata-Khulna train service, Bandhan Express, was flagged off from Kolkata.

DHAKA, 30 May 2022, (TON): The US embassy in Dhaka in a message has applauded Bangladesh for the sacrifices it has made in being one of the world’s top contributors to UN peacekeeping operations.

The embassy marking the International Day of UN Peacekeepers said “it’s an opportunity to honour the thousands of Bangladeshis, who have for more than 30 years, helped maintain global peace.”

The US embassy also shared a photo of Squadron Leader Nayma Haque, who is one of Bangladesh’s first two female military helicopter pilots.

She also served in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in DR Congo.

WASHINGTON, 29 May 2022, (TON): Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State has said “on behalf of the United States of America, I wish the people of Azerbaijan a happy Independence Day.”

This year, we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Azerbaijan. 

In the three decades since Azerbaijan’s independence from the Soviet Union, we have become strong partners in promoting European energy security, combatting transnational threats, and advancing bilateral trade and investment. 

We deeply value Azerbaijan’s contributions to the global fight against terrorism and illicit trade networks, as well as your support for Ukraine, particularly your humanitarian assistance.

The United States is proud to continue to expand our relationship not only through strong economic linkages, but also through our people-to-people ties. 

BEIJING, 29 May 2022, (TON): The UN rights envoy said “her contentious visit to China was not an investigation and insisted she had unsupervised access during meetings in Xinjiang, where Beijing is accused of widespread human rights abuses.”

Michelle Bachelet’s long-planned trip this week has taken her to the far-western region, where Beijing is accused of the detention of over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, forced sterilization of women and coerced labor.

The United States has labelled China’s actions in Xinjiang a genocide and crimes against humanity, allegations vehemently denied by Beijing which says its security crackdown was a necessary response to extremism.

Bachelet has come under fire from rights groups and Uyghurs overseas, who say she has stumbled into a six-day Communist Party propaganda tour, including a meeting with President Xi Jinping in which state media suggested she supported China’s vision of human rights.

WASHINGTON, 29 May 2022, (TON): US Vice-President Kamala Harris has made an impassioned plea for a ban on assault weapons in the wake of two deadly mass shootings in the US.

Ms Harris was attending the funeral of Ruth Whitfield, 86, killed in a supermarket in Buffalo on 14 May.

That shooting came just 10 days before an attack on a Texas primary school left 19 children and two teachers dead.

Ms Harris, listing these and other attacks, said it was time to say "enough is enough" to gun violence.

She said "everybody's got to stand up and agree that this should not be happening in our country and that we should have the courage to do something about it.”

LONDON, 29 May 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.

The leaders discussed the latest developments in the Donbas and the East of Ukraine.

The Prime Minister said “the UK will continue to support the heroic Ukrainian Armed Forces in their efforts to defend their homeland against this barbaric attack, including helping provide the equipment they need.”

The leaders spoke about Putin’s despicable blockade of Odesa, Ukraine’s biggest shipping port.

The Prime Minister outlined to President Zelenskyy the intensive work taking place with international partners to find ways to resume the export of grain from Ukraine to avert a global food crisis.

He said that the UK would work with G7 partners to push for urgent progress.