Kuala Lumpur, Feb 20 (AP/UNB) — Malaysia’s ambassador to North Korea has been recalled from Pyongyang amid rising tensions between the countries over the death in Kuala Lumpur of an estranged scion of North Korea’s ruling family.
Category: Int’l relations
Digital voting machine could be introduced if all agree: EC Secy
Election Commission Secretary Muhammad Abdullah on Sunday said the Election Commission will introduce the digital voting machine (DVM) only after it gets positive responses from all quarters. “We must go for the system after satisfying all…if all want, the commission…
Trump motorcade hit by 2×4, 5 students face charges
West Palm Beach, Feb 19 (AP/UNB) — Authorities say a vehicle in President Donald Trump’s motorcade was struck by a “2×4” and five middle school students are now facing charges.
Special Indian visa camp held at Dhaka cantonment
Dhaka, Feb 18 – Indian High Commission here on Saturday organised a special visa camp for family members of serving and retired Armed Forces personnel at Sena Malancha of Dhaka Cantonment.
Zuckerberg Manifesto is blueprint to destroy journalism?
Lip service to the crucial function of the Fourth Estate is not enough to sustain it. It’s not that Mark Zuckerberg set out to dismantle the news business when he founded Facebook 13 years ago. Yet news organizations are perhaps…
PM seeks int’l support to relocate Rohingyas
Munich (Germany), Feb 18 – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday sought support from the international community, including Germany, to temporarily relocate illegal Myanmar nationals living in Bangladesh to Thengar Char in Noakhali for providing them with all sorts of…
Remove draft law provision for marriage under 18: HRW
Dhaka, Feb 18 – Bangladesh should remove the provision in the draft law permitting marriage under the age of 18 to work toward a Bangladesh free of child marriage, says a senior official of the Human rights Watch (HRW), UNB…
Bus flips over in Argentina’s Andes, at least 19 killed
Dhaka — Police say a passenger bus has flipped over on an Andean highway in Argentina, killing 19 of the 42 people aboard.Another 23 people were injured.There were 40 passengers and two drivers on the vehicle.
UN Rights Office ‘dramatically and chronically underfunded’
Geneva, 16 Feb (Kanaga Raja) – The United Nations Human Rights Office has launched an appeal of nearly US$253 million in extra-budgetary funding for its work programme in 2017, with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights lamenting that his…
Munich Security Conference kicks off
The 53rd Munich Security Conference kicked off here on Friday where over 500 decision-makers from across the globe gathered for discussions on major international security challenges. The participants, including more than 25 heads of state and government, 80 foreign and…
Pakistan launches crackdown as Isis shrine attack toll rises to 88
Officials in Pakistan say they have killed at least 39 suspected militants in a sweeping security crackdown a day after a massive bombing claimed by Islamic State killed 88 people and injured hundreds more at a crowded shrine. Overnight raids…
Syria: Coordinated Chemical Attacks on Aleppo
Syrian government forces conducted coordinated chemical attacks in opposition-controlled parts of Aleppo during the final month of the battle for the city, Human Rights Watch said today. Through phone and in-person interviews with witnesses and analysis of video footage, photographs,…
El Salvador Should Decriminalize Abortion
In 2013, the life of “Beatriz,” a 22-year-old woman in El Salvador, was put in grave danger as a result of her pregnancy. But abortion is illegal in El Salvador. source:HRW
Leaks, tweets, and real threats to democracy
In at least one respect, Donald Trump is following in Barack Obama’s footsteps: his hyper-aggressive response to government leaks of information. U.S. President Donald Trump holds his earpiece as he holds a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo…
Tony Blair calls for people to ‘rise up’ against Brexit
Tony Blair has said it is his “mission” to persuade Britons to “rise up” and change their minds on Brexit. Speaking in the City of London, the former prime minister claimed that people voted in the referendum “without knowledge of…
PM flies to Germany to attend security conf
She’s likely to raise Rohingya issue with Merkel Dhaka, Feb 16 – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left here for Germany on Thursday night on a four-day official visit to attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC) and hold bilateral talks with…
Saudi Arabia to cull billions of dollars of projects
By Simeon Kerr Saudi Arabia is planning to cull billions of dollars of projects as part of its latest cost-cutting measures to narrow a gaping budget deficit and balance the books by 2020.
For civil society networking, HR status info sharing in South Asia
The regional consultation of South Asian Citizens’ Voices on Democracy and Peoples Security was attended by representatives of the civil society from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. During the two day consultation they had many…
Major industrial nations seek strong IPR framework at WTO
Geneva (D. Ravi Kanth) – Major developed countries have called for tightening the intellectual property framework at the World Trade Organization to ensure that their micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are protected from sharing technologies, according to a proposal…
Myanmar says army ends operation in troubled Rakhine state
Myanmar’s national security adviser says the military has ended its four-month counterinsurgency operation in troubled Rakhine state, where it had been accused of rape, torture and other abuses against Muslim Rohingya minority residents.
Saudi bans importing live birds and hatching eggs from Bangladesh
Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, announced on Wednesday a temporary ban on the import of live birds and hatching eggs from Bangladesh. This came following official reports by the World Organisation for Animal Health, OIE, confirming outbreak of…
Trump Should Press Netanyahu on Settlements
For Israel and Palestine, 2017 marks several major anniversaries: the 100th of the Balfour Declaration, which proclaimed British support for establishing a national home for the Jewish people in historic Palestine, the 70th of Palestine’s partition into Jewish and Arab…
EU-BD to raise awareness on irregular migration risks
Dhaka – The Eurpean Union and Bangladesh have agreed to launch an information and awareness raising campaign on the risks of irregular migration. A workshop in this regard will be held in Dhaka on 28 February next. This has been…
CEC promises fair polls – urges govt not to influence
Dhaka, Feb 15 – Urging the government not to influence the Election Commission, New Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda on Wednesday promised to hold fair polls wining the trust of all political parties, including BNP.
India launches record 104 satellites in single mission
India has created history by successfully launching 104 satellites on a single mission, overtaking the previous record of 37 satellites launched by Russia in 2014. All but three of the satellites are from foreign countries, most of them from the…
Former Prime Minister of Togo to head IFAD
Rome, 14 February – Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, former Prime Minister of Togo, has been appointed as the sixth President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized United Nations agency and international financial institution that invests in eradicating…
Peacempire forms coalition to fight child marriages
Rakibul Hasan Peacempire, an initiative to scale down Early Marriage, undertook major activities among 2805 adolescents, youths and adults, mostly aged 13 to 25 years, who represent over 32 villages in the district of Narayanganj, Bangladesh. We have surpassed the…
Mexico ready to retaliate by hurting American corn farmers
Mexico is one of the top buyers of American corn in the world today. And Mexican senator Armando Rios Piter, who leads a congressional committee on foreign relations, says he will introduce a bill this week where Mexico will buy…
Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn resigns
Washington, Feb 14 (AP/UNB) — President Donald Trump’s embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned late Monday night, following reports that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with Russia. His departure upends Trump’s…
BNP to discuss with Prime Minister election-time govt
Dhaka – The BNP on Monday expressed its eagerness to discuss with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina across the table on election-time supportive government.