DHAKA, 28 April 2022, (TON): United Nations officials have expressed interest in deploying more peacekeepers from Bangladesh in bilateral meetings with Chief of Army Staff General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed at UN Headquarters in New York.

According to a message received “the Bangladesh army chief had meetings with senior officials of the UN on various issues of mutual interest, including peacekeeping operations during his visit to UNHQ on April 25 and 26.”

General Ahmed met with UN Under-Secretary-General of Department of Security and Safety Gilles Michaud, Acting Military Adviser Major General Maureen O'Brien, Assistant Secretary-General of Department of Political and Peace Building Affairs Mohammed Khaled Khiari, ASG of Department of Operational Support Christian Saunders and Police Adviser Luis Ribeiro Carrilho.

During the meetings, the Bangladesh army chief proposed to replace the long-used weapons and equipment in the Bangladeshi contingents of the peacekeeping mission with new weapons and equipment sourced from Bangladesh, to which the concerned officials readily agreed.

DHAKA, 28 April 2022, (TON): Switzerland sees massive potential in expanding trade and investment ties with Bangladesh, along with close collaboration on knowledge partnerships.

Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh Nathalie Chuard said “trade and investment is a domain that has gradually picked up. We want to focus more in this area with Bangladesh.”

Apart from trade and investment, the Swiss envoy mentioned two other elements development and sustainability and global challenges and multilateralism.

While delivering her keynote speech at Cosmos Dialogue held virtually, she described “how both the two countries can continue partnering together towards a better future, and innovation, where her country is a leader.”

Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, hosted the dialogue, titled “Bangladesh-Switzerland Relations: Prognosis for the Future” as part of its ongoing Ambassador's Lecture Series.

WASHINGTON, 27 April 2022, (TON): Press secretary Jen Psaki said “White House is worried Iran could develop a nuclear weapon in weeks.”

Psaki said “yes it definitely worries us.”

Adding “the time needed for Iran to produce a nuclear weapon is down from about a year.”

Earlier, Blinken said “the US still believes a return to a nuclear deal is the best path with Iran, amid a prolonged standoff in talks.”

Facing criticism of the deal during an appearance before Congress, Blinken called the 2015 agreement imperfect but better than the alternatives.

Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee “we continue to believe that getting back into compliance with the agreement would be the best way to address the nuclear challenge posed by Iran and to make sure that an Iran that is already acting with incredible aggression doesn’t have a nuclear weapon.”

JEDDAH, 27 April 2022, (TON): The secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hissein Brahim Taha, held talks with the EU ambassador to the Saudi Arabia, and its special representative to the OIC, Patrick Simonnet, in Jeddah.

During the meeting, they discussed the constructive dialogue between the OIC and the EU, and the fruitful cooperation between them in various fields, stressing the desire to strengthen relations.

They also exchanged views on a number of issues of common interest, including the Palestinian cause, Afghan crisis, the situation in the Sahel countries, Lake Chad, issues facing Muslim communities and minorities, Islamophobia and hate crimes.

Relations between Saudi Arabia and the EU and its member states are decades old and are becoming increasingly close.

WASHINGTON, 27 April 2022, (TON): On April 25 and 26 United Kingdom Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan and United States Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai hosted the second UK-U.S. Dialogue on the Future of Atlantic Trade in Aberdeen, Scotland.

The Dialogue follows Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Biden’s announcement last year of a new ‘Atlantic Charter’ and builds on the successful inaugural Trade Dialogue in Baltimore earlier in March.

Secretary of State Trevelyan and Ambassador Tai agreed to collaborate further on: delivering practical support for SMEs, digitising UK-U.S. trade in the modern economy, building resilience in critical supply chains.

Over the two days, Secretary of State Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Ambassador Katherine Tai hosted a series of roundtable discussions with a diverse group of stakeholders from the UK and U.S. business community, trade unions and civil society.

Supporting resilient supply chains, Collaborate on promoting critical supply chain resilience to help ensure strong and robust supply chains, bringing together expertise from both our nations.

KYIV, 27 April 2022, (TON): Russia pounded eastern and southern Ukraine as the US promised to keep moving heaven and earth to get Kyiv the weapons it needs to repel the new offensive, despite Moscow’s warnings that such support could trigger a wider war.

For the second day in a row, mysterious explosions rocked the separatist region of Trans-Dniester in neighboring Moldova, knocking out two powerful radio antennas close to the Ukrainian border and further heightening fears of a broader conflict erupting across Europe.

No one claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Ukrainian authorities said “Russian missile fire also knocked out a strategic railroad bridge along a route that links the southern Odesa port region to neighboring Romania, a NATO member.”

The attack on the bridge along with a series of strikes on key railroad stations a day earlier appears to mark a major shift in Russia’s approach.

KYIV, 27 April 2022, (TON): Russia pounded eastern and southern Ukraine as the US promised to keep moving heaven and earth to get Kyiv the weapons it needs to repel the new offensive, despite Moscow’s warnings that such support could trigger a wider war.

For the second day in a row, mysterious explosions rocked the separatist region of Trans-Dniester in neighboring Moldova, knocking out two powerful radio antennas close to the Ukrainian border and further heightening fears of a broader conflict erupting across Europe.

No one claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Ukrainian authorities said “Russian missile fire also knocked out a strategic railroad bridge along a route that links the southern Odesa port region to neighboring Romania, a NATO member.”

The attack on the bridge along with a series of strikes on key railroad stations a day earlier appears to mark a major shift in Russia’s approach.

RIYADH, 27 April 2022, (TON): Saudi Press Agency reported “Saudi Arabia's King Salman has sent a cable of congratulation to Rashad Al-Alimi on taking the oath of office as president of the Presidential Leadership Council in the Republic of Yemen.”

SPA continued “king expressed his best wishes for success to the president and members of the council in endeavors seeking to realize security and stability for the brotherly people and country of Yemen.”

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also sent a cable of congratulations and also wished success for Al-Alimi in his efforts to bring growth and prosperity to Yemen.

The president and other members of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council on Tuesday took the oath of office before a rare session of the parliament in the southern port city of Aden.

LONDON, 27 April 2022, (TON): The UK has made technical adjustments to the sanctions list for Russia, which includes 195 individuals and legal entities, without introducing new restrictions.

This follows from an updated version of the document circulated by the UK Foreign Office.

Changes have been made to deputies of the State Duma and members of the Federation Council.

The new version of the document contains a number of technical adjustments, as well as more explanations about the reasons for blacklisting certain persons involved, which implies a ban on entry into the UK and freezing assets in the country if they are found.

The new document also spells out in more detail the measures that may be applied by the British authorities in relation to yachts and aircraft on the list.

NEW YORK, 27 April 2022, (TON): The United Nations warned “more than eight million Ukrainians could flee as refugees this year and doubled its aid appeal for those stuck inside the war-ravaged country.”

Nearly 5.3 million Ukrainians have already fled Ukraine since Russia launched its full-fledged invasion on February 24, fuelling Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.

The UN refugee agency, which initially forecast that up to four million people would flee this year, said it would need $1.85 billion to support refugees in neighbouring countries. UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said “it was anyone’s guess as to when we will reach this 8.3-million figure”, stressing “the situation is highly dynamic.”

She told reporters in Geneva “these displacements are still occurring every day. Every hour we are seeing people continue to flee Ukraine.”