Passengers set sail Sunday from Miami on an historic cruise to Cuba, the first in decades to depart from a U.S. seaport for the communist island nation. Carnival Corp.’s 704-passenger Adonia left port at 4:24 p.m., bound for Havana. Carnival’s…
Category: Int’l relations
Bin Laden death: CIA panned for live-tweeting ‘news’
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been criticised online for live-tweeting the killing of Osama Bin Laden as it happened five years ago. It has shared details of the mission and intelligence that led to America’s most wanted man…
Denmark okays 5-year dev partnership with BD
Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Kristian Jensen has approved a five-year programme for Denmark’s development partnership with Bangladesh.
Denmark okays 5-year dev partnership with Bangladesh
Dhaka – Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Kristian Jensen has approved a five-year programme for Denmark’s development partnership with Bangladesh, unb news agency reported. The programme is aligned to the Bangladeshi government’s 7th Five Year Plan that sets out the…
15 hurt in pre-election violence in Jhenidah
Dhaka – At least 15 people were injured in two separate incidents of clashes centering electioneering ahead of the union parishad (UP) election in Sadar upazila of Jhenidah district in southwest Bangladesh on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Historic May Day being observed across Bangladesh
Dhaka – The historic May Day is being observed in bangladesh and many other countries of the globe on Sunday with a fresh vow to establish the rights of workers. May Day, also known as International Workers’ Solidarity Day, commemorates…
Madrasah teacher held for quizzing over Hindu tailor Nikhil killing
Dhaka – Police has detained a madrasah teacher for quizzing in connection with the killing of Hindu tailor Nikhil Joarder, unb news agency reporter. The detainee was identified as Mawlana Amirul Islam, 42, super of Alamnagar Dakhil Madrasah. Amirul was…
Police to give security to prominent writer Dr Zafar Iqbal
Amid concern over the frequent killings of bloggers, writers and university teachers throughout the country, Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) on Saturday deployed police personnel to ensure security to Prof Dr Muhammad Zafar Iqbal of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology…
US stresses steps to curb killings in Bangladesh
Washington (AP/UNB) – Secretary of State John Kerry called on Bangladesh’s leader to step up law enforcement to prevent a wave of killings targeting liberal voices, the State Department said Friday amid fears that the traditionally moderate South Asian nation…
China, Japan foreign ministers meet to smooth tense ties
Beijing (AP/UNB) – The foreign ministers of China and Japan are meeting in Beijing in an effort to improve tense relations bedeviled by disputes over territory, history and competition for influence in East Asia.
Living free and equal
Rebeca Grynspan Madrid – In the quarter-century since the publication in 1990 of the first Human Development Report, the world has made astounding strides in reducing poverty and improving the health, education, and living conditions of hundreds of millions of…
WHO: Member States to finalise FENSA during May Assembly
Geneva (K M Gopakumar) – World Health Organization Member States decided to continue negotiations on the Framework for Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA) during the 69th World Health Assembly (WHA). The 69th WHA with its annual gathering of health ministers…
Nisha Desai Biswal likely to be in Dhaka May 4
Dhaka – Nisha Desai Biswal, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, is likely to arrive here on May 4 to discuss ways how the counterterrorism cooperation between Bangladesh and the United States can be taken…
Norway calls off helicopter rescue, says 13 dead
Norwegian rescue officials say the search operation after the helicopter crash near Bergen is over and all 13 people who were on board are presumed dead.
UN ‘preparing response’ to North Korea missile tests
Dhaka – The UN Security Council is preparing a response to North Korea after it test-launched two mid-range missiles, China’s UN ambassador Liu Jieyi has said, according to reports. The two launches on Thursday came after a similar test on…
Kerry phones Bangladesh PM, urges her to arrest Xulhaz killers
Dhaka – US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday night phoned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and requested her to take necessary steps to bring the killers of Kalabagan murder to trial, unb news agency reported. According to the Prime…
Two Amendment bills on Civil Courts, Court Fees passed
‘Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2016’ and Court Fees (Amendment) Bill, 2016-were passed in Parliament on Thursday.
Jean Lambert expressed deep concern over recent killings in BD
News Desk As Chair of the Delegation for relations with South Asia, we express our deep concern and condemnation of the ongoing killings in Bangladesh, following the latest killing of two LGBT activists yesterday, one of whom was the editor…
SIM re-registration deadline to expire on Apr 30: Tarana
The re-registration of all subscribers’ SIM cards under the biometric method will end at 10m on April 30 as per as the government’s decision, reiterated State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim on Thursday. “The re-registration of SIMs under…
Syria conflict: UN envoy calls on US and Russia to save talks
The UN envoy to Syria has urged the US and Russia to urgently intervene “at the highest level” to salvage talks.Speaking after briefing the UN Security Council on the faltering peace process, Staffan de Mistura said that a truce agreed…
Military buildup, fightings mark end of Syrian cease-fire
Beirut (AP/UNB) – A military buildup in northern Syria, coupled with heavy fighting and mounting civilian casualties, spells the end of a cease-fire that for two months brought some relief to a war-weary country. The renewed violence is ushering in…
Switzerland refuses to join consensus on FENSA emergency exception
Geneva (K M Gopakumar) – Switzerland refuses to join the consensus on the emergency exception to the World Health Organization’s Framework for Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA). While there is a consensus on most of the text, Switzerland objected to…
EU for bringing murderers of activists to justice, safety of all
Yesterday two Bangladeshi LGBTI activists were brutally murdered in a horrifying attack in Dhaka, which also left a policeman and a security guard injured. With the killings of a law student on 6 April and of an English language professor…
HRW calls for US official Xulhaz, Tonoy killers’ arrest
Dhaka – The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday said the Bangladeshi authorities should immediately investigate the killings of two ‘LGBT human rights activists’. Police found Xulhaz Mannan and Tonoy Mahbub hacked to death in an apartment in the capital…
US deploying rocket launchers near Syria
Turkey’s foreign minister says the United States will deploy a rocket launcher system in southeastern Turkey across the border from Syria.
N Korea ready for another missile launch
North Korea appears to be preparing a test-launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Tuesday, after what the United States described as the “fiery, catastrophic” failure of the first attempt.On April 15, the North…
Nepal’s critical journalist Kanak Mani Dixit detained in graft case
New York – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Nepal to immediately release Kanak Mani Dixit, the founding editor of the independent regional news magazine Himal Southasian. The journalist, who has reported critically on the country’s civil…
Saudi Arabia outlines reform move away from oil reliance
Riyadh (AP/UNB) – Saudi Arabia on Monday approved a long-awaited plan laying out reform priorities for the next decade and a half, setting in motion what is likely to be a period of significant economic change in the oil-rich kingdom.…
Marica urged Govt. to arrest the murderer of Xulhaz & Tanay
STAFF REPORTER US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat yesterday condemned the killing of Xulhaz Mannan and his friend Tanay Mojumdar by unidentified miscreants.
5.6-magnitude quake strikes Mexico
A 5.6-magnitude earthquake has struck southwest of the Mexican town of Suchiate at a depth of 10 km, the US Geological Survey reported.