Raushan Ershad has been elected as chairman by the pro-Raushan faction of the Jatiya Party (Japa) for the next three years. Her name was announced at the 10th National Council on Saturday (March 9). Kazi Firoz Rashid has been elected as the Chief Executive Chairman of Jatiya Party for the next three years. Syed Abu Hossain Babla has been as the senior Co-Chairman. Besides, five Co-Chairmen have been elected. Party Vice Chairman Ziaul Haque Mridha read out the condolence motion at the beginning. Earlier, the activities of the council officially started at noon on Saturday (March 9) with the hoisting of the national anthem and party flag.

The intelligence leaders of the 'Five Eyes' countries have accused China of posing a threat to the world, alleging that the country is stealing intellectual property, trade secrets, and personal data all across the world, as reported by CBS News. These leaders made these claims on the news show '60 Minutes' on CBS News. 'Five Eyes' is a security alliance formed after World War II, comprising the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It monitors the global threat landscape, including events such as the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in West Asia, Russia's military offensive in Ukraine, and what they refer to as China's unprecedented global espionage campaign. According to CBS News, when discussing China's espionage, FBI Director Wray noted that there are approximately 2,000 active investigations underway to uncover Chinese efforts to steal data from various countries. "The People's Republic of China represents the defining threat of this generation this era. There is no country that presents a broader, more comprehensive threat to our ideas, our-- our innovation, our economic security, and ultimately our national security. We have seen efforts by the Chinese government, directly or indirectly, trying to steal intellectual property, trade secrets, personal data-- all across the country," he said. He added, "We're talking everything from Fortune 100 companies, all to smaller startups. We're talking about agriculture, biotech, health care, robotics, aviation, academic research. We probably have somewhere in the order of 2,000 active investigations that are just related to the Chinese government's effort to steal information." Apart from this, the Director General of MI5, the U.K.'s FBI, Ken McCallum emphasized that China is making efforts to steal the military, government as well as academic data of the country. McCallum stated, "This is not just about government secrets or military secrets. It's not even just about critical infrastructure. It's about academic research in our universities. It's about promising startup companies. People, in short, who probably don't think national security is about them." In the same event, the intelligence leaders of the 'Five Eyes' countries flagged concerns over ongoing global espionage by China, CBS News reported. David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said the partnership between the leaders of the 'Five Eyes' strengthens the alliance. According to CBS News, the leaders of 'Five Eyes' nations, along with FBI Director Christopher Wray, made their first joint public appearance last week to issue a warning on the global espionage by China. "The People's Republic of China represents the defining threat of this generation, this era," Wray said at the joint public appearance, adding, "There is no country that presents a broader, more comprehensive threat to our ideas, our innovation, our economic security, and ultimately our national security." The intelligence directors warned further that in addition to the threats to national security, China has been stealing intellectual property from companies, CBS News reported. Mike Burgess, the director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, highlighted that one way in which China steals intellectual property is by targeting people on professional networking sites. The Chinese state actor pretends to be a consultant or a conference host and then uses the site to lure a businessman to a third country, CBS News quoted them as saying. The actor may access the target's computer in their hotel room and steal intellectual property from the target's company, they added." They seize commercial advantage to our disadvantage," Burgess was quoted as saying further by CBS News. The Chinese government targets dissidents across the world through a programme named 'Operation Fox Hunt', which is an initiative supposedly intended to find fugitives charged with domestic corruption, the report noted. FBI Director Wray noted that China used this programme to harass, stalk, surveil, and intimidate Chinese dissidents in foreign countries. "These are uncoordinated law enforcement operations that violate our sovereignty and international norms," Wray added. Later, during the news show 60 Minutes, the Five Eyes leaders also addressed the "perennial threat" posed by Russia. Ken McCallum, the Director General of M15, which is responsible for protecting the UK, its citizens and its interests at home and overseas against threats to national security, said his country had taken strict action against the Russian's covert presence even before its "invasion" of Ukraine, reported CBS News. After a British double agent was poisoned in the English city of Salisbury in 2018, the UK removed the undeclared Russian intelligence officers who were part of the Russian diplomatic presence in the country. McCallum added that since the "invasion" of Ukraine, the UK has expelled several Russian diplomats. "But in our line of work, never underestimate the Russian intelligence services. They will be looking to use any other available means, including cyber methodology, to continue to exert influence and gather intelligence," McCallum added. Meanwhile, Wray said the FBI has partnered with other intelligence operations to disrupt significant Russian cyber operations, including a malware called "Snake", CBS News reported. He added that the FBI and its partners were able to turn the malware on itself, later rendering it ineffective, the report added. The director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Vigneault, explained how he and his colleagues manage everything that is going on across the world. He made an analogy borrowing from his country's national pastime -- ice hockey. "When the puck goes into the corner and you have to defend yourselves, you know you have your partners with you, your players with you on the ice to defend," Vigneault said, adding, "And that's what makes us stand taller in front of the threat." 

The leaders from nine Mediterranean and southern European countries met Friday in Malta to discuss migration with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The meeting came a day after the EU failed to agree on changes to the bloc's migration laws. Some 186,000 people have already arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean Sea between January and September 24 of this year, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Of this, 130,000 have arrived in Italy, an 83% increase compared to last year. Disagreements over solutions to migrant crisis The continuous arrival of boats has put political pressure on the group, which includes Malta, France, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. But even among the nine countries, there are disagreements on how to deal with the crisis. Von der Leyen would hold a separate meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the Malta summit. They will discuss a plan which includes the possible expansion of naval missions in the Mediterranean. Deadly Mediterranean route Separately, the UN's children's agency, UNICEF, warned that  at least 990 people died or went missing in the dangerous central Mediterranean route between northern Africa and Europe, That was three times the number 334, recorded in the same period last year. The agency said 11,600 unaccompanied minors had been among the migrants trying to get to Italy on makeshift vessels between January and September.

Over thirty prominent women leaders from the government, private sector, academia, media, and non-government organizations participated in a high-level round table organized by the United Nations in Bangladesh to discuss advancing gender equality. The high-level roundtable on “the Role of Women in Bangladesh: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in Public Life” took place on 24 September and provided a rare opportunity for women leaders from different walks of life to meet and reflect together on existing barriers to further advance gender parity, to ensure non-discrimination, and to address the challenges faced by women and girls in the country.  Bangladesh's first female Speaker of Parliament, Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, was the Chief Guest at the roundtable, which was moderated by the UN Resident Coordinator, Gwyn Lewis. Among other participants of the event were the Ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh, Alexandra Berg von Linde, the UN Women Country Representative Gitanjali Singh and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative, Kristine Blokhus. Commenting on the importance of women’s role in society, the Speaker of Parliament, Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, noted that “a smart Bangladesh needs that we address the structural barriers and harness the full potential of women in economic life to maintain the momentum for sustainable development, especially as we graduate from the least developed countries (LDC) status.” In her opening remarks, the UN Resident Coordinator praised Bangladesh’s significant achievements in its sustainable development and highlighted that this progress had been driven in large part by the extraordinary contributions of women.  “In the past fifty years, Bangladesh has made incredible achievements in its remarkable development journey. Women’s participation, representation, and leadership in all areas of public life has significantly increased, but there remains a vast untapped potential which will only be fulfilled through the investment in women and girls and - in their health, education, decent jobs and social protection, productive capacities and protection from discrimination - is taken seriously and if they, as agents of their own change, have a bigger role in public life.” At the roundtable, women leaders shared their diverse experiences, successes, and challenges. They discussed barriers to women’s representation and leadership and identified actions to jointly tackle these issues to advance gender equality in Bangladesh.

Business leaders on Saturday said the massive hike in prices of petroleum products would further fuel the unprecedented inflation, intensify miseries for the common man and create serious issues for the industry due to the unbearably high cost of doing business. They criticised the caretaker government that it should have kept the prices of petroleum unchanged due to the falling landing cost of imported crude on account of the persistent rise in the rupee strength against the dollar in the last eight interbank sessions despite rising crude oil prices in the world market. The government had raised petrol and diesel rates by 8.5pc and 5.6pc, respectively, effective Sept 16. Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, in a statement, explained that the rupee closed at 296.85 for a dollar in interbank on Friday, reflecting more than Rs10 to a dollar gain which touched Rs307.10 on Sept 5. He chief recalled that the apex chamber had forewarned the authorities several times over the last few months to address the teething problems in the import of the Russian crude, i.e. handling of oil cargoes; adjustments required vis-à-vis refining processes and commercial transactional procedures to settle oil payments. Nevertheless, the authorities failed to listen to the FPCCI and currently the country would have more Russian crude by now, which is cheaper by a whopping 40pc as compared to international markets today. While appreciating the status quo in the key policy rate by the State Bank, Mr Sheikh said the trade and industry was looking for a discounted and regionally competitive export finance scheme (EFS), long-term financing facility (LTFF) and temporary economic refinance facility (TERF) rates to cope up with the economic instability, cost of doing business and restoring competitive equilibrium in its exports. Offering a different view, Pakistan Business Council (PBC) chief executive officer Ehsan Malik said that with an increase in the global cost of fuel and our high degree of reliance on imports, a price revision was inevitable. However, even after the latest increase, the price per litre of petrol at Rs331.38 and of diesel at Rs329.18 in Pakistan is lower than those across the border in India. With the present pressure on both the current and fiscal accounts, he said “we can’t afford to lower taxes to buffer the impact of rising global cost of fuel. Besides, we have commitments to the IMF to deliver,” Mr Ehsan said. Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president Mohammad Tariq Yousuf, in a statement, said it has become almost impossible to run the industries at such a high cost. This was the fourth consecutive hike in petroleum prices whereas, during the tenure of the caretaker government alone, the petrol price has been raised by more than Rs58 per litre, which was going to create a lot of problems for the already ailing economy as the production has been curtailed by many industrial units to a great extent due to high cost. The general public was already overburdened because of the recent increase in electricity tariffs which is aggravated by the extraordinary upsurge in petroleum prices, triggering severe anxiety not only amongst the masses but also the business and industrial community. Given the economic crisis being faced by the country, the government has to take harsh steps to generate the required revenue for overcoming expenditures and fulfilling international commitments. However, instead of taking these steps back-to-back, the government should devise some kind of an effective strategy to ensure some sigh of relief to the masses and the industry who will not be able to bear the brunt caused by consecutive price hikes. Tariq Yousuf stressed that the emerging situation has to be efficiently addressed and handled very carefully otherwise, the rising petroleum prices and electricity tariffs would continue to increase the cost of doing business, which would terribly affect the industrial performance, raise unemployment and open the floodgates of inflation, particularly for the middle and lower segments of the society, besides making the poor poorer due to unbearable inflation. Source: dawn.com

The leaders of the BRICS countries have agreed on a roadmap for how to allow new states to join their group of up-and-coming economies, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told Ubuntu Radio — a station run by her own ministry. "We have agreed on the matter of expansion," she said. "We have a document that we've adopted which sets out guidelines and principles, processes for considering countries that wish to become members of BRICS...That's very positive," Pandor said. She added that further details would be provided by the BRICS leaders by the end of the summit, currently taking place in Johannesburg. Expansion of the bloc was one of the main topics on the agenda. More than 40 countries are interested in joining, with at least 22 — including Iran, Venezuela and Algeria — having already made formal requests to become members. Brazil backs BRICS common currency Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke in favor of setting up a new common currency to be used between the BRICS members instead of the US dollar. "The decarbonization of our economies needs to be accompanied by dignified jobs, industrialization and green infrastructure and services for all," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. He added that the BRICS New Development Bank in Shanghai, headed by former Brazilian president and ally of Lula, Dilma Rousseff, would be able to take on the challenge. "The creation of a currency for transactions between the BRICS countries reduces our vulnerabilities," Lula said. The Brazilian president didn't go into further detail on his proposal.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas has held a meeting with Awami League leaders. Haas was holding the meeting with an AL delegation led by the party’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader. The meeting started after 11 am today. (reports UNB) Quader came to the AL central office on Bangabandhu Avenue around 10:30 am to attend the meeting with the US ambassador. AL Presidium Member Muhammad Faruk Khan, International Affairs Secretary Shammi Ahmed, Information and Research Secretary Selim Mahmud, Office Secretary Biplab Barua and Executive Member Mohammad Ali Arafat were also present at the time. An official of the US embassy is accompanying Peter Haas at the meeting.

University teachers, researchers, cultural activists and community leaders today at an international conference expressed their firm determination to work relentlessly until the global recognition of the Genocide, which occurred in the country by the Pakistani army in 1971, is achieved. They expressed their determination at an international conference titled 'International Conference on Bangladesh Genocide Recognition', Organised by Amra Ekattor, Projonmo 71 and European Bangladesh Forum at Dhaka University's Abdul Matin Chowdhury virtual classroom.   While addressing DU vice chancellor Dr Md Aktaruzzaman said during the Liberation War of Bangladesh, the University of Dhaka was the epicentre of genocide and the students and teachers of the university were the first victims of genocide.   Greeting the organisers and contributors of the conference, he sincerely pledged that the University of Dhaka will always stand with them and cooperate for achieving recognition of the 1971 genocide. European Bangladesh Forum (EBF) President Bikash Chawdury Barua expressed firm determination to continue efforts to draw the attention of the world community about the genocide and to stand with the victims of atrocities conducted by the Pakistani army during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.   Genocide researcher and founding secretary of Projonmo 71 Tawheed Reza Noor said Projonmo 71 is working to achieve recognition of the genocide and ensure justice.   "According to the 1948 genocide conversation, genocide means destroying, harming and distorting a targeted group of people or community with a systematic plan. And the genocide conducted by Pakistani military forces during the Liberation War of Bangladesh was planned killings of Bengali people, said Pradip Kumar Dutta , a genocide researcher.   Ekattorer Ghatok Dalal Nirmul Committee president Shahriar Kabir, Former Dutch MP and human rights activist Harry Van Bommel, Trustee of Liberation War Museum Mofidul Haq, Communication director of Swiss inter-strategy group Chris Blackburn, and Lieutenant colonel Birpratik Sazzad Zahir also addressed the conference, among others. Source: BSS

The Quad leaders, in their third in-person summit, held in Hiroshima on Saturday, affirmed that the four countries are committed to bringing enduring benefit to the Indo-Pacific region by providing options that build resilience, open communication and economic growth as they issued Joint Principles for Secure Software, Principles for Critical and Emerging Technology Standards and Principles for Clean Energy Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad leaders also announced the evolution of Quad Vaccine Partnership into a broader Quad Health Security Partnership. Through this partnership, Quad will strengthen coordination and collaboration in support of health security in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad leaders expressed serious concerns over militarisation in the Indo-Pacific region and call for joint action against terrorism. The Indo-Pacific region is an "engine" of global trade, innovation and development and its success and security are important for the whole world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his opening remarks at the Summit. Modi said that India will be happy to host the Quad Summit in 2024. The Principles on Critical and Emerging Technology Standards announced on Saturday intended to promote interoperability, innovation, trust, transparency, diverse markets, security-by-design, compatibility, inclusiveness and free and fair market competition. "We are committed to supporting industry-led, consensus-based multi-stakeholder approaches to the development of technology standards, and we recognise the importance of procedures that ensure trust, transparency, openness, impartiality and consensus," according to Principles on Critical and Emerging Technology Standards. "The Quad partners recognize the security risks posed by lack of adequate controls to prevent tampering with the software supply chain by adversarial and non-adversarial threats. By leveraging the voice of the Quad, we can promote and strengthen a culture where software security is by design and default...," according to the Quad Joint Principles for Secure Software issued after the Summit. The statement outlined certain principles to create deterrence. The Quad intends to pursue certain high-level secure software development practices and to adopt them into existing government policy, acquire software that meets these practices, and encourage software developers/suppliers to implement them. This would entail ensuring that people are adequately trained, processes are defined, and technology solutions are in place to perform secure software development; Protecting the Software and Software Development Environment; Producing Well-Secured Software; Identifying vulnerabilities in software releases and respond appropriately to continuously address those vulnerabilities and prevent similar ones from occurring in the future. Each member of the Quad intends to pursue the minimum guidelines for government procurement of software or a product containing software. This would entail “Require self-attestation by the software producer, unless a third-party certification is provided, stating that the software’s development complies with secure software development practices; Encourage the software developer to report to a respective national vulnerability disclosure program that includes a reporting and disclosure process.” The Quad identified five security measures for government software use including ensuring adequate controls and processes to protect software and software platforms from unauthorized access and usage and ensuring adequate controls and processes to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data used by software and software platforms. The Quad Principles on Clean Energy Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific aimed to expand manufacturing of clean energy technologies in parallel with exponentially increasing demand and enable commercial-scale production capabilities for critical devices, components, and systems. Without directly referring to Chinese ambitions the Quad leaders stated that it intended to maintain and strengthen stability in the Indo-Pacific where competition is managed responsibly, in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Charter. The Quad announced cooperation with Palau to establish a deployment of Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN), the first in the Pacific. Source: The Economic Times

The heads of state and government of different countries around world have praised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's leadership. On Saturday, May 6, through a press briefing on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's presence at the coronation ceremony of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey, Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem said, "All the heads of state and government who have spoken to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have shown their respect to her. In this context, she mentioned the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's body language and respect to Bangladesh PM Hasina. The High Commissioner said, "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has received tremendous respect from everyone. At the inauguration ceremony, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh interacted with the Presidents of Egypt and Rwanda, Prime Ministers of Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Gambia, Namibia and Uganda." She added, "World leaders highly appreciated the continued leadership of Bangladesh Prime Minister and the remarkable economic growth of Bangladesh under her (Sheikh Hasina) leadership.  Everyone mentioned about it (the economic growth of Bangladesh) and global leaders want to know how Bangladesh has maintained the high economic growth."