WASHINGTON, 25 May 2022, (TON): Treasury Department said “the United States imposed sanctions on a Hamas finance official and a network of financial facilitators and companies that have generated revenue for the Palestinian militant group.”

The sanctions target Hamas’ Investment Office, which holds assets estimated to be worth more than $500 million.

Elizabeth Rosenberg, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, said “Hamas has generated vast sums of revenue through its secret investment portfolio while destabilizing Gaza, which is facing harsh living and economic conditions.”

There was no immediate comment from Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and is deemed a terrorist group in the West and by Israel.

STOCKHOLM, 25 May 2022, (TON): A statement released by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic stated “Finland and NATO have signed a mutual technical agreement that includes a provision for host nation support.”

It says “on May 24, 2022, in Mons, Finland and NATO concluded a [relevant] mutual technical agreement.”

Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen said “this document will strengthen Finland’s defense capability.”

According to him, “such an agreement will allow Finland to “effectively receive military assistance” from NATO.”

DHAKA, 25 May 2022, (TON): Two Indian Navy ships, INS Kora and INS Sumedha arrived at Mongla Port for the harbour phase of the 2nd edition of annual exercise Bangosagar.

An Indian High Commission press release said “Bangosagar will be conducted on May 24-25 where the operational teams of both Navies will discuss operational procedures.”

Indian Naval Ships arrived after conducting the 4th edition of India-Bangladesh Coordinated Patrol with Bangladesh Navy Ships on May 22-23 along the International Maritime Boundary Line.

The release added “the CORPAT drill is an annual exercise between the two Navies to enhance interoperability while conducting maritime operations to combat transnational maritime crimes.”

Maritime Patrol Aircraft of both countries also participated in the Coordinated Patrol.

SRINAGAR, 25 May 2022, (TON): Amid unending assault on Kashmiri parties and resistance groups that began with the dismantling of the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, a special court convicted JKLF leader Yasin Malik in a terror funding case.

The sentence is expected to be handed next week.

Reports said “Special Judge Praveen Singh directed the National Investigation Agency to assess Mr Malik’s financial situation to determine the amount of fine to be imposed and posted the matter for arguments on the quantum of sentence on May 25.”

Reports quoted Mr Malik as telling the court that he was not contesting the charges levelled against him that included Sections 16 (Terrorist Act), 17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy to commit terrorist act) and 20 (being member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the UAPA.

DHAKA, 25 May 2022, (TON): Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen urged UN to take practical actions to ensure early repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland Myanmar.

He made the urge while the newly appointed UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis  presenting her credentials to him at the State Guest House Padma here.

A foreign ministry press release said “Lewis handed over a letter from UN Secretary General António Guterres, thereby officially entering into her new role by succeeding Mia Seppo.”

During the meeting, the minister emphasized the need for increasing efforts from the UN and other stakeholders to maintain worldwide awareness about the plight of the Rohingya people.

Momen also underscored the importance of starting the work of UN bodies in Bhasan Char following up the signing of MoU between the Government of Bangladesh and UNHCR in last October.

DHAKA, 25 May 2022, (TON):  US ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas expressed his hope that journalists would be protected from harassment and violence during the upcoming polls in Bangladesh.

He told a discussion organised by the US embassy “a free press is a key ingredient in a legitimate, free democracy.”

Haas added “we all have an obligation to protect the free press and to allow journalists to seek and report the truth without fear, harassment, or censorship.”

He said “the United States maintained a universal and identical policy about elections anywhere in the world that seeks people to choose their own government through free and fair elections conducted in accordance with international standards.”

Former President of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, also a US Jefferson Media Fellow presented the keynote paper at the discussion.

DHAKA, 25 May 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has congratulated Élisabeth Borne on her appointment as Prime Minister of the French Republic.

In a message of greeting wrote to her French counterpart, Sheikh Hasina expressed her confidence, saying "your experience as a politician and administrator will put you in good stead to effectively discharge your responsibilities."

She added “Élisabeth Borne's contributions will be crucial to realizing the mandates of President Emmanuel Macron during his second term in office.”

The premier reiterated "since the forging of Bangladesh-France diplomatic relations half a century ago, our bilateral ties have been invigorated by dynamic cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, water, development, aviation, climate action, and knowledge sharing.”

By Nasriya Naffin

Sajith Premadasa being the opposition leader of the country at present, is the only son of Sri Lanka’s former President Ranasinghe Premadasa. Born in 1968, Sajith studied at St.Thomas’ Preparatory School and Royal College in Colombo and Mill Hill school in London. He obtained his bachelor's degree from the London school of economics and political science in the UK and Master's degree in Public Management at the University of Maryland in the USA.  

He came into politics in the year 2000 as a candidate of the United National Party (UNP) contesting from the district of Hambanthota. Sajith has served as Deputy Minister of Health, Minister of Housing and Construction and Minister of Cultural affairs. He became the Deputy Leader of the UNP in the year 2014. He is the current Leader of the Opposition of Sri Lanka and Leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

A good leader possesses patriotic qualities and prioritizes his country. He is one among the very few politicians in the country with no allegations of corruption, malpractices and free of court cases, Premadasa has all the vital prerequisites for the country’s leadership. 

Sri Lanka with a great cultural heritage that runs back to 2500 years has recognized that the country has lacked honest leaders with a sharp vision over decades. As a result, the country has been borrowing dollars from all over the globe dragging the nation to the worst financial crisis ever. Whoever takes the leadership of this country in future should be capable of saving the country’s economy before it totally collapses and it is not going to be an easy task.  

Sajith Premadasa, who lost to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the previous presidential election, was always passionate to address issues of the poor. He has carried out many successful housing projects for the poor. He has a vision of eliminating poverty from the country and to make a stable income that distributes equally among everyone. Like father like son Sajith always wanted structural changes in the country’s economy to drag the country out of this vicious cycle of poverty. He is well experienced in local politics and well aware of the mechanisms that have disrupted the proper policy formulation and its implementation.

Does he have the willpower to change the system and bring everything back on track?  

A successful leader should have the capacity to grasp the core of an issue in no time. While Sajith was pursuing his higher studies abroad he had the opportunity to learn under professors who were the best in the world in the areas of economics and politics which helped him to develop the ability to nail the issues instantly.

Sajith Premadasa has apprenticed under US Senator Larry Pressler of South Dakota for almost two years giving him an opportunity to experience the policy formulation process in the US. 

On the other hand, sincerity and seriousness are two of the most important traits great leader will have. Premadasa has refused the offer of super luxury vehicles at the expense of taxpayer's money throughout his parliamentary career. He also refused to receive the COVID vaccination until the last person in Sri Lanka was vaccinated during the pandemic.  

The spirit of a country is created by its leaders. A true leader should be non-biased in any situation. Especially when ruling a country like Sri Lanka where many ethnicities live. During the COVID-19 pandemic Sajith warned the parliament about the readiness of the government far before the country was hit hard by the pandemic.  

Leaders of the new era should be well aware of modern technology and communication where the general public is updated with new information at all times. The new leaders should be equally fast in responding to people's ever demanding challenges with optimism and ingenuity. A modern leader of the 21st century can never resemble those who were in the past. At present the country is struggling with acute shortages of essentials. Seeking help from not only its neighboring countries but from all over the world.

However, Sajith rejected the recent offer by the President to be the Prime Minister of the interim government. He requested the resignation of the former Prime Minister and the transfer of some of the presidential powers of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to the parliament in order to take up the position.

Later, Ranil Wickramasinghe was appointed as the new Prime Minister and Sajith's political party agreed to give support to the newly formed interim government.

Whoever comes into power next will be able to overcome the present situation of the country and to convert the country's fragile profile into a country that has sustainable economic growth. Our long-term growth will totally depend on the ability of the country’s leaders successfully balancing between world’s major powers. He or she should know the art of integrating Sri Lanka to the world.

By Usman Khan

Sensing short of skilled teachers and with schools set to open next month in Myanmar, the military regime announced to finish the strike and issued arrest warrants for striking teachers. As the Myanmar regime has been desperately wooing coax demonstrators to return to work. The regime struggles to open schools and has used the harsh words against the UN criticism.

According to the Education Ministry of the civilian National Unity Government (NUG), nearly 80 percent of Myanmar’s 400,000 teachers joined the Civil Disobedience Movement in opposition to the military coup last year.

Last year, the army chief reopened schools after more than a year of closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak, his regime trained new recruits to fill the vacancies left by striking teachers.

The junta chief now inviting striking teachers to come back, it is obvious that his replacement scheme has failed. When classes reopened last year, the majority of parents refused to send their children to school, in a show of opposition to the military regime.

At the same time, the NUG is providing teacher training skilled by striking professors and teachers. The NUG has opened schools in some places under its mechanism and is offering online classes in others. In response to the junta’s invitation, striking education staff have called for a constant boycott of education under military rule Junta chief’s adviser slams UN

According to the junta education adviser which says, that there are many ongoing human rights violations and dictatorships in various countries and the UN is only putting Myanmar under the spotlight the. She accused that the UN has failed to learn the lessons from the history that prohibitions can only diminish the Myanmar people and will not help to bring down the military government.

She goes on to argue that there will be more losses than gains for the UN if it does not recognize the current military government. She warned that Foreign and local staff of UN agencies in Myanmar will suffer if the agreements between the UN and Myanmar expire and the current government does not want to extend them. As the “UN assistance is not inimitable.

The 70-year-old junta education adviser which is the daughter-in-law of late military dictator U Ne Win and was an education adviser to the former President. She was trained as a geologist and formerly worked with UNICEF from 1991 to 2011. In August 2012 she was appointed a member of a Commission of Inquiry investigating communal violence in Rakhine State that year. As an adviser to the military regime, she has regularly written pro-junta articles in regime newspapers.

Lately, the regime has experienced a number of international setbacks including decisions by both Britain and Australia to down their diplomatic affairs with Naypyitaw. The meetings held between civilian National Unity Government Foreign Minister and US officials amid last week’s US-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington to which junta chief was not invited.

Against this backdrop, the pro-military circles argue that there would be no disputes between the nations of the world if other countries followed the good neighborly relations that Myanmar and China enjoy.

As they described that the two countries have always enjoyed an easy relationship because China has always been such a good neighbor to Myanmar, and has always wanted to see positive changes in Myanmar’s politics.

With the exception of China and Russia, the international community has condemned and largely shunned the regime for its violence against the Myanmar people. The reasons are obvious because the Russia engages with the regime because the Myanmar military is a major buyer of its weapons, while China has extensive economic interests inside Myanmar.

The regime spokesperson even said that not to blame Myanmar’s military if conflicts arise in Rakhine State because of the armed group’s recent activities. He warned that the Myanmar military is exercising restriction in order to evade any damage coming to the Rakhine people, and for the sake of peace.

The regime spokesperson issued a warning to the commander of the Myanmar military’s western command, which oversees operations in Rakhine State, in response to the regime’s stiff security checks and arrest of alleged Arakan Army (AA) affiliates.

The Arakan Army (AA) chief said he would crush the command if it keeps on doing things that harm the Rakhine people. All this is evident of fact that civilian casualties may go higher due to the rough approach of Myanmar regime.

By Usman Khan

Sensing short of skilled teachers and with schools set to open next month in Myanmar, the military regime announced to finish the strike and issued arrest warrants for striking teachers. As the Myanmar regime has been desperately wooing coax demonstrators to return to work. The regime struggles to open schools and has used the harsh words against the UN criticism.

According to the Education Ministry of the civilian National Unity Government (NUG), nearly 80 percent of Myanmar’s 400,000 teachers joined the Civil Disobedience Movement in opposition to the military coup last year.

Last year, the army chief reopened schools after more than a year of closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak, his regime trained new recruits to fill the vacancies left by striking teachers.

The junta chief now inviting striking teachers to come back, it is obvious that his replacement scheme has failed. When classes reopened last year, the majority of parents refused to send their children to school, in a show of opposition to the military regime.

At the same time, the NUG is providing teacher training skilled by striking professors and teachers. The NUG has opened schools in some places under its mechanism and is offering online classes in others. In response to the junta’s invitation, striking education staff have called for a constant boycott of education under military rule Junta chief’s adviser slams UN

According to the junta education adviser which says, that there are many ongoing human rights violations and dictatorships in various countries and the UN is only putting Myanmar under the spotlight the. She accused that the UN has failed to learn the lessons from the history that prohibitions can only diminish the Myanmar people and will not help to bring down the military government.

She goes on to argue that there will be more losses than gains for the UN if it does not recognize the current military government. She warned that Foreign and local staff of UN agencies in Myanmar will suffer if the agreements between the UN and Myanmar expire and the current government does not want to extend them. As the “UN assistance is not inimitable.

The 70-year-old junta education adviser which is the daughter-in-law of late military dictator U Ne Win and was an education adviser to the former President. She was trained as a geologist and formerly worked with UNICEF from 1991 to 2011. In August 2012 she was appointed a member of a Commission of Inquiry investigating communal violence in Rakhine State that year. As an adviser to the military regime, she has regularly written pro-junta articles in regime newspapers.

Lately, the regime has experienced a number of international setbacks including decisions by both Britain and Australia to down their diplomatic affairs with Naypyitaw. The meetings held between civilian National Unity Government Foreign Minister and US officials amid last week’s US-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington to which junta chief was not invited.

Against this backdrop, the pro-military circles argue that there would be no disputes between the nations of the world if other countries followed the good neighborly relations that Myanmar and China enjoy.

As they described that the two countries have always enjoyed an easy relationship because China has always been such a good neighbor to Myanmar, and has always wanted to see positive changes in Myanmar’s politics.

With the exception of China and Russia, the international community has condemned and largely shunned the regime for its violence against the Myanmar people. The reasons are obvious because the Russia engages with the regime because the Myanmar military is a major buyer of its weapons, while China has extensive economic interests inside Myanmar.

The regime spokesperson even said that not to blame Myanmar’s military if conflicts arise in Rakhine State because of the armed group’s recent activities. He warned that the Myanmar military is exercising restriction in order to evade any damage coming to the Rakhine people, and for the sake of peace.

The regime spokesperson issued a warning to the commander of the Myanmar military’s western command, which oversees operations in Rakhine State, in response to the regime’s stiff security checks and arrest of alleged Arakan Army (AA) affiliates.

The Arakan Army (AA) chief said he would crush the command if it keeps on doing things that harm the Rakhine people. All this is evident of fact that civilian casualties may go higher due to the rough approach of Myanmar regime.