DHAKA, 09 March 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is currently in the UAE on an official visit to meet with the country’s rulers, attend the Expo 2020 Dubai, and witness the signing of several agreements.

The Bangladesh prime minister sat with the Khaleej Times for an interview ahead of the visit.

Interviewer: In line with your vision 2021, Bangladesh received the UN General Assembly approval to graduate from the least developed country category to the developing country grouping in 2026. What were the major steps taken to realise this achievement?

Bangladesh received the final recommendation to graduate from the group of LDC in February 2021. We have a five-year preparatory period to make our graduation smooth and sustainable.

Bangladesh has made this achievement on a solid economic foundation. Our government took initiatives to build a human-centred, inclusive modern democracy as envisioned by the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. We have invested heavily in our people to lift them out of poverty and to make them empowered to carry out the development journey of the country. We have been pursuing inclusive economic growth by implementing novel policies like the Vision 2021 and Vision 2041, eighth Five Year Plan, Delta Plan 2100, ‘Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan’ and so on.

DHAKA, 09 March 2022, (TON): Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and his Indian counterpart Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will meet in New Delhi in April.

They will meet for the seventh joint consultative commission meeting and discuss various issues of bilateral interest, including trade, investment, water, border and line of credit.

She added “additional Foreign Secretary Mashfee Binte Shams said the previous meeting was held virtually in 2020. The upcoming meeting will be held in person because of the improvement in the Covid-19 pandemic situation.”

She said “cooperation on issues relating to water resources is a big deal for both countries.”

She added that there have been several talks about sharing of river waters.

BEIJING, 08 March 2022, (TON): Beijing’s embassy in Ukraine announced Monday that most of the approximately 6,000 Chinese nationals previously in the country had been evacuated, as Russia stepped up the shelling of multiple cities.

In the weeks leading up to the conflict, Chinese state media dismissed US warnings of an imminent Russian invasion. Unlike many Western nations, Beijing waited until after war broke out on February 24 to tell its citizens to evacuate.

The embassy said in a social media statement “at present, most Chinese compatriots in Ukraine have already been evacuated.”

At present, the tense situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine solemnly reminds remaining Chinese compatriots to leave the country as soon as possible.

DAMASCUS, 08 March 2022, (TON): Syria’s defense ministry said “Israel fired several missiles toward Syrian military positions near the capital Damascus Monday, killing two civilians and causing material damage.”

The ministry said in a statement “Israeli warplanes flying over neighboring Lebanon fired the missiles toward Syria. It added that Syrian air defenses shot down most of the missiles.”

It gave no further details or say how the civilians were killed.

Israel did not comment on the attack and rarely acknowledges such operations. But it has launched hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria during its past decade of civil war.

WELLINGTON, 08 March 2022, (TON): New Zealand’s government said “it plans to rush through a new law that will allow it to impose economic sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.”

Unlike many countries that have already introduced sanctions, New Zealand’s existing laws don’t allow it to apply meaningful measures unless they’re part of a broader United Nations effort. Because Russia has U.N. Security Council veto power, that has left New Zealand hamstrung.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the new legislation would allow it to target people, companies and assets connected to those in Russia associated with the invasion, including oligarchs.

It would allow New Zealand to freeze assets and stop superyachts or planes from arriving.

Ardern said “a bill of this nature has never been brought before our parliament, but it is essential given Russia’s vetoing of sanctions through the U.N.”

The bill will be specific only to the Ukraine invasion but could allow New Zealand to impose sanctions on countries seen to be helping Russia, such as Belarus.

MOSCOW, 08 March 2022, (TON): The Kremlin press service reported “Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a conversation with European Council President Charles Michel, called on the EU to make a real contribution to saving people, to put pressure on Kiev, assessed the course of negotiations with representatives of Kiev, confirming the well-known Russian demands.”

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine early in the morning on February 24.

President Vladimir Putin called its goal “the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.”

For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for bloody crimes against ci-vilians in Donbass.”

TEHRAN, 08 March 2022, (TON): A top Iranian official said that his country is seeking creative ways to restore its nuclear deal with world powers after Russia’s foreign minister linked sanctions on Moscow over its war on Ukraine to the ongoing negotiations.

The tweet by Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s powerful Supreme National Security Council, offers the first high-level acknowledgment of the demands of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Shamkhani wrote “Vienna participants act & react based on interests and it’s understandable.”

“Our interactions are also solely driven by our people’s interests. Thus, we’re assessing new elements that bear on the negotiations and will accordingly seek creative ways to expedite a solution.”

In recent days, negotiators on all sides in Vienna had signaled that a potential deal was close as the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agreed to a timetable with Iran for it disclose answers to long-standing questions it had about Tehran’s program.

But Lavrov said “he wanted guarantees at least at the level of the secretary of state that the US sanctions would not affect Moscow’s relationship with Tehran. That threw into question the months of negotiations held so far on restoring the 2015 deal, which saw Iran agree to drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.”

MOSCOW, 08 March 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Viktor Orban said “Hungary allows the deployment of NATO troops in the country and the transit of weapons to other countries of the alliance, but not to Ukraine.”

The Government in accordance with the decision of the Heads and Governments of NATO countries, approved in the statement of February 25, 2022, except in the case of transit through Ukraine, allows the Allied Armed Forces to transit by land and air through the territory of Hungary to another member state alliance on the basis of a NATO decision and deployment in the Transdanubian region in Hungary, if necessary.

It is noted that the decision to ban the transit of lethal weapons and equipment to the territory of Ukraine is aimed at protecting the interests of national security.

Putin, in response to the requests of the Donbass republics and after the appeal of the State Duma deputies, signed decrees recognizing the sovereignty of the LPR and the DPR.

DUBAI, 08 March 2022, (TON): State-run WAM news agency reported “the UAE has sent 30 tons of emergency medical supplies and other emergency aid to Ukraine to assist civilians. “

The Emirates aircraft landed in Lublin, Poland, and the medical and relief aid were handed over to the Ukrainian authorities in Poland to be transported to Ukraine.

The statement said the step was in response to the international humanitarian appeal to support displaced Ukrainians and refugees in neighboring countries.

The UAE‘s Ambassador to Ukraine Salem Al-Kaabi said “sending an aircraft with medical supplies and relief aid is part of the UAE’s steadfast commitment to essential humanitarian needs in conflicts involving civilians.”

BRUSSELS, 08 March 2022, (TON): On 7 March, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell spoke with China’s State Councillor/ Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

This was their second conversation since the start of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military invasion of Ukraine.

High Representative/ Vice-President Borrell expressed appreciation for China’s position at the UN Security Council and General Assembly indicating support for territorial integrity, sovereignty of nations and inviolability of borders, as well as for China’s readiness to support cessation of hostilities and dialogue.

The High Represen-tative/ Vice-President and the State Councillor/  Foreign Minister agreed that a large-scale humanitarian crisis must be prevented.