DHAKA, 13 May 2022, (TON): Police in Moulvibazar arrested 18 Rohingyas after they illegally entered Bangladesh from neighbouring India.

Moulvibazar Sadar police detained the Rohingyas around 10:00am at a bus stand in the district town as they were trying to travel to Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Police and intelligence officials said the Rohingyas entered Bangladesh from India through the Prithimpasha border of Kulaura upazila under Moulvibazar with the help of brokers.

Confirming the matter, the Moulvibazar Sadar police station officer-in-charge Yasinul Haque told media that they were interrogating the group for details.

KABUL, 13 May 2022, (TON): Niklasson said “the EU’s assistance to Afghanistan has remained neutral.”

European Union special envoy for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson said “we do not recognize the interim government, but we see value in engaging and discussing with them.” 

He made the remarks at a press briefing in Kabul. 

He said “I want to state that nothing has changed in terms of the EU’s overall position toward Afghanistan. We do not recognize the interim government, but we see value in engaging and discussing with them. We have re-established our presence on the ground through our delegation.” 

The EU special envoy also pledged that humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan would continue.

Niklasson expressed concerns over the imposition of restrictions on Afghan women, and girls’ education. 

KABUL, 13 May 2022, (TON): A senior member of the Islamic Emirate, Anas Haqqani said “nearly 50 officials of the former government including some ministers have returned to the country.” 

However, he didn’t name the individuals who have returned to the country. 

Earlier, the Islamic Emirate said “it had established a commission for the Return and Communications with Former Afghan Officials and Political Figures."

Haqqani, who is also a member of the commission, said the method of the commission’s operation has yet to be finalized. 

He said “we have facilitated the grounds. Many officials who worked as ministers and deputy ministers during the former government, they returned.” 

This comes as members of the commission for the ‘Return and Communications with Former Afghan Officials and Political Figures’ in a meeting on Wednesday once again stressed the need to facilitate the return of the Afghan influential figures living abroad.  

DHAKA, 13 May 2022, (TON): A meeting between Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed and Saudi ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Yousef Essa Alduhailan was held at the meeting room of the ministry.

During the meeting, they discussed issues related to the friendly relations between the two countries, expanding Bangladesh's labor market in Saudi Arabia.

Secretary to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Dr Ahmed Munirus Saleheen was present on the occasion, among others.

DHAKA, 13 May 2022, (TON): Bangladesh and South Korea vowed to work together for a better and promising future while making the best use of the opportunities the two countries have to offer.

The countries expressed their wish to collaborate more than before amid emerging global challenges as 50 years of bilateral relations between Bangladesh and South Korea.

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, and the East Asia Study Center of the University of Dhaka jointly organized a seminar on the study of "50 Years of Korea-Bangladesh Relations.”

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen spoke at the seminar as the chief guest.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun and Bangladesh Ambassador to South Korea Delwar Hossain joined as special guests chaired by Dhaka University Prof Dr Delwar Hossain.

NEW DELHI, 13 May 2022, (TON): The BJP is set to increase its members in Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, while the BSP and the Congress would be the major losers in the upcoming election.

Uttar Pradesh sends 31 members to Rajya Sabha. Among the 11 retiring MPs from the state, five are from the BJP.

The Election Commission announced that voting will be held on June 10 to fill 57 Rajya Sabha seats from 15 states, including 111 from Uttar Pradesh.

These seats will be falling vacant due to the retirement of members between June and August.

Kapil Sibal from Congress, Satish Chandra Mishra, BSP general secretary, and Reoti Raman Singh of Samajwadi Party are among the members whose terms are ending.

NEW DELHI, 13 May 2022, (TON): An extended range version of the BrahMos supersonic missile was successfully test fired from a Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft.

The defence ministry said in a statement "the launch from the aircraft was as planned and the missile achieved a direct hit on the designated target in the Bay of Bengal region.”

BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.

The range of the advanced version of the missile is around 350 km from the original 290 km.

WASHINGTON, 12 May 2022, (TON): Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The Secretary and President Aliyev discussed recent positive momentum and future concrete steps on the path to peace in the South Caucasus, including border delimitation and demarcation, opening transport and communication links, and the release of the remaining Armenian detainees.

Secretary Blinken reiterated the United States stands ready to help by engaging bilaterally and with like-minded partners, including through our role as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair, to help the countries find a long-term comprehensive peace.

TOKYO, 12 May 2022, (TON): Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who is on a visit to Japan, discussed issues of the international situation and regional security at the meeting.

Kishida said “now that we are at a historical crossroads, the cohesion of countries like Finland that share common values is required.”

The Prime Minister of Finland confirmed that both countries share common values.

The parties also reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the principle of an open and free Indo-Pacific region.

The leaders of Japan and Finland strongly condemned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and agreed on the need for a resolute, united response to the unfolding crisis that is threatening the rules-based global order.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin told her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida about Finland’s plans to potentially join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a historic move that she said would strengthen the international community that shares universal values.

Kishida said during a joint press briefing with Marin at his office “we see the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific region as inseparable and oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force anywhere in the world.”

WASHINGTON, 12 May 2022, (TON): Senior delegations representing the United States and Thailand met on May 9 and 10 for the first joint U.S.-Thailand Strategic and Defense Dialogue. 

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner led the U.S. delegation while Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thani Thongphakdi and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense General Warakiat Rattananont led the Thai delegation.

The Strategic Dialogue and the Defense Strategic Talks have long been integral parts of the enduring U.S.-Thai alliance, and this marked the first year that the participants have integrated these dialogues into a single two-day event. 

This year’s Dialogue addressed a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including regional security, economic recovery and prosperity, health cooperation, democracy and respect for human rights, and efforts to combat the climate crisis. 

Faced with regional and global challenges, the United States and Thailand reaffirmed our longstanding treaty alliance and partnership as a vehicle to jointly tackle shared challenges and achieve mutual goals.