Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud called on the OIC member states to take alternate measures to end the conflict in Gaza which has turned into genocide and ensure humanitarian rights and human rights for the Palestinian people. He was speaking at the 19th Extraordinary CFM of the OIC on Israels’ aggression on the Palestinian People at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia today (05 March 2024). Hasan Mahmud reiterated Bangladesh's firm support for the cause of Palestine and called for an immediate ceasefire while ensuring keeping open humanitarian corridors. He stressed on the importance of the Islamic Financial Safety Net to ensure basic necessities for the Palestinians.   He mentioned the strong statement delivered by Bangladesh at the ICJ in February  on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and hoped that peace will be established soon in the region which is the demand of the Muslim Ummah. Noting the current development at the United Nations Security Council, Foreign Minister highlighted the need for its reform so that decision on globally effecting issues could be reached. Dr. Hasan Mahmud reiterated the need for unity of the Muslim Ummah and resolve on the part of all parties to end the atrocities against Palestinian people and help them to live safely and peacefully in their own homeland.

China outlined on Tuesday a raft of measures for strengthening integration with Taiwan, in an indication that Beijing aims to expand links with the self-ruled island that were severed during the Covid-19 pandemic. China claims the democratic island as part of its territory and relations have soured since Taiwan’s independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016. Ties drifted further as coronavirus curbs gummed up trade and other exchanges during the pandemic. The document jointly issued on Tuesday by the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council consists of more than 20 “opinions” for laying a “new path towards integrated development” between Taiwan and the culturally similar mainland province of Fujian. They include making it easier for Taiwanese people to live, work, study and do business in Fujian, as well as encouragement for companies in the province to hire staff from Taiwan. They also call for the coastal city of Xiamen to speed up integration with Kinmen and Matsu, two groups of islands that lie just a few miles off the coast of mainland China but are governed by Taiwan. The United States recognises Beijing diplomatically over Taipei but maintains de facto relations with Taiwan and supports its right to decide its own future. “Solving the Taiwan issue and realising the complete reunification of the motherland is the unswerving historical task of the Chinese Communist Party … and the inevitable requirement for realising the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” Tuesday’s document said. Source: Dawn

As India is gearing up to host a tourism working group meeting in Srinagar - the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir - in May, the country is tightening its security measures across the place. Among the slew of security measures, special highway patrolling teams will be deployed at major junctions along the major roads in Srinagar. Also anti-drone technology will be installed. Sources told Deccan Herald newspaper that top security officials from Jammu and Kashmir had detailed discussions with a central team to make security and other arrangements for G20 delegates in the Valley where the meeting is scheduled to be held. Delegates from almost all countries of G20, except China, are scheduled to attend the meeting on Working Group of Tourism in Srinagar on May 23, official sources said. The G20 delegates will reach Srinagar on May 22 and the meeting of the group will be held on May 23. The delegates will be taken to major tourist places for sightseeing on May 24 in Srinagar including Dal Lake where they will go for a Shikara ride, Dachigam Wildlife Sanctuary and some other significant places followed by a visit to north Kashmir’s ski-resort Gulmarg. They will return to New Delhi on May 25, they added, the newspaper reported. A senior police officer told Rising Kashmir that security measures are being finalized ahead of the G20 meeting in Srinagar. High-end drones and CCTV cameras will be used to keep the surveillance to avoid any untoward incident. The officer said paramilitary forces from the hinterland will also be relocated and deployed in Srinagar, Gulmarg, Baramulla and other places where G20 delegates will visit to ensure a peaceful atmosphere. "All agencies of security forces are working in a joint synergy. We have recently formulated a new security plan for the high profile G20 meeting. The arrangements are in the final stage, he said, reported Rising Kashmir. The police officer said they have already discussed a proposal with the Srinagar administration to replace the traditional bunkers with Smart bunkers in the city. All bunkers at vital locations are being relocated and some work has been already done in this regard, he said. "Some bunkers were recently relocated in Dal Gate, Jehangir Chowk, Nigeen and other areas," he said, adding that more bunkers will be relocated soon. In this regard, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has issued fresh tenders for face lifting and renovation of existing bunkers, pickets in Srinagar City and Rs. 44.44 Lakh has been allocated for the same. India’s Home Minister Amit Shah recently reviewed the security situation and preparations of the G-20 meet, scheduled to be held in Srinagar. He urged all agencies to work in a coordinated manner for the success of the event. The meeting was attended by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, J&K Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla among other senior officials. Source: Indiablooms.com

In a joint statement, US authorities said they would work to protect depositors, and losses would not be borne by the taxpayer. President Biden said he would make a further statement on Monday morning. US Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen, Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell, and FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg released a joint statement Sunday that they will complete the resolution of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) whilst protecting depositors. "Depositors will have access to all of their money starting Monday, March 13. No losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer," they said in a joint statement. The reason authorities believe the taxpayer will incur no cost is that authorities administrating the bank will be able to use its remaining assets to cover the costs of reimbursing depositors. The same will also apply to Signature Bank. On Sunday, the New York State Chartering Authority closed down the cryptocurrency-exposed lender that had lost around a third of its share price value in the second half of the week.  President Joe Biden told reporters on Sunday that he would speak at more length on the issue early on Monday. On Friday, US regulators pulled the plug on SVB in the largest bank failure since the 2008/9 financial crisis after a sudden run on deposits. Meanwhile, in the UK, reports of several interested suitors in the bank's British subsidiary emerged late on Sunday, shortly before the markets reopen on Monday. What else did Yellen say? The statement said senior management would be removed, and shareholders and certain unsecured debt holders would not be protected. The Federal Reserve Board also said it would make available "additional funding to eligible depository institutions to help assure banks have the ability to meet the needs of all their depositors." FDIC insures deposits up to $250,000 (roughly €235,000), but many of the companies and wealthy people who used the bank had more than that amount in their accounts. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told Fox News he hoped that Silicon Valley Bank would ultimately be bought. "I think that would be the best outcome to move forward and cool the markets and let people understand that we can move forward in the right manner," he said. US banking system 'resilient' China and Hong Kong stocks rose on Monday, after the news of US authorities stepping in to limit the fall of SVB. The blue-chip CSI 300 Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng benchmark were up more than 0.5% each in early morning trade. Japan's Nikkei was down by 1.6%. Yellen tried to reassure those concerned about a possible domino effect from the failure of SVB. She insisted that the US banking system was safer than during the financial crisis almost 15 years ago, which led to several bank bailouts. "The American banking system is really safe and well capitalized," Yellen said. "It's resilient." Following the 2008 failure of Lehman Brothers and the ensuing financial meltdown, US regulators required major banks to hold additional capital in case of trouble.  But some analysts have warned that some regional US banks could be in trouble, as was demonstrated by Signature Bank's closure on Sunday.  Crypto exchange Bitstamp said it would continue to operate normally despite the closure of Signature Bank. Coinbase said on Twitter they expected to fully recover $240 million (€223 million) balance in corporate cash at Signature. What was Silicon Valley Bank? SVB was little known to the public but was a key lender to technology startups in the US and globally and had strong relationships with venture capital firms. By the end of 2022, it had become the 16th largest US bank by assets, with $209 billion in assets and approximately $175.4 billion in deposits. However, the bank was impacted by the US central bank's aggressive interest rate hikes in the last year, which crimped financial conditions in the startup space. Many of SVB's assets, such as bonds or mortgage-backed securities, lost market value as rates climbed. Then its customers — largely technology companies that needed cash as they struggled to get financing —  started withdrawing their deposits. The bank had to sell bonds at a loss to cover the withdrawals. HSBC to buy SVB's UK branch  Sky News reported that SVB's UK branch would be bought by HSBC Holdings, adding that Britain's finance ministry would be releasing a statement about this soon. Other British institutions such as the Bank of London and OakBank North had earlier expressed interest in buying the branch as well. Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group were said to have been approached about a possible emergency takeover. The Bank of England has said that it will seek a court order to place SVB's UK branch into insolvency. In the US, observers at technology news site "The Information" say it is unlikely that big banks like JPMorgan or Bank of America will join in the race to take over SVP, noting that it is more plausible that smaller regional banks like PNC Financial, US Bank, Trust or Capital One would look to get involved. Further impacts elsewhere in the world Governments around the world said they were trying to find solutions to limit the potential hit to companies from the collapse of SVB, which has subsidiaries in Canada, Europe and a joint venture in China. The state minister for technology in India said Sunday he will meet startups this week to assess the impact on them of the collapse. The South Asian country has one of the world's biggest startup markets, with many clocking multi-billion-dollar valuations in recent years and backed by foreign investors. "[I] spoke to some founders and it is very bad," Ashish Dave, CEO of Mirae Asset Venture Investments (India), wrote in a tweet. "Especially for Indian founders... who set up their US companies and raised their initial round, SVB is default bank. Uncertainty is killing them. Growth ones are relatively safer as they diversified. Last thing founders needed." German business daily Handelsblatt said SVB had 3,600 customers in Europe. Around 10% of them were said to come from Germany. Meanwhile, Israel's Supervisor of Banks Yair Avidan said it was closely monitoring for "immediate developments" from the collapse as well for those that could happen in the future. Israel's tech sector is the country's main growth engine and its relationship with the Silicon Valley region is strong. Many Israel-based startups had accounts at SVB, although the amounts are not fully known.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged the United Nations to take special and effective measures to stop the Ukraine-Russia war as soon as possible, saying as fast as the war will be ended it will be better for the people. "We are suffering a lot as a result of the war. Inflation has increased, especially due to non-arrival of goods for sanctions. People are suffering a lot because of this war, people are suffering all over the world. The war needs to stop as soon as possible," she said. The Prime Minister made the call during a meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) Saturday afternoon (local time), as she arrived here in Qatar to attend 5th United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC5: From Potential to Prosperity). After the meeting, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen briefed the newsmen, while Senior Secretary of the foreign ministry Masud Bin Momen was present. Sheikh Hasina said that the UN Secretary General can take special initiative to end the ongoing Ukraine-Russia as soon as possible. She, however, opined that the countries making profit from the war should help other countries to lessen their sufferings. While discussing the Rohingya issue, the Prime Minister urged the UN Secretary General for undertaking special steps so that the Myanmar nationals can return to their homeland. Referring to her government's steps of relocating 30,000 Rohingyas at Bhashan Char, she requested the UN Secretary General to cooperate in shifting more Rohingyas there. Both the Prime Minister and the UN Secretary General agreed that the Rohingyas must go back to Myanmar soon whether there is any change taking place or not in political arena there. During the meeting, Antonio Guterres highly appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her unprecedented successes in development, diplomacy and in tackling Covid pandemic, saying: "The achievements is very much encouraging".  The UN Secretary General said that they are proud of a leadership like Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who successfully tackled covid-19 situation and advanced Bangladesh further even facing the crisis due to Ukraine war.

"There are mounting concerns in the international community on the ongoing COVID-19 surges in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data, being reported from the PRC," the officials said, using the initials of the People's Republic of China, according to Reuters. The United States government may impose the new Covid-19 measures on travelers coming from China amid the surge of new Covid cases, Reuters reported citing a US official. "There are mounting concerns in the international community on the ongoing COVID-19 surges in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data, being reported from the PRC," the officials said, using the initials of the People's Republic of China, according to Reuters. The move comes after Japan, India and Malaysia announced they will impose new measures on travelers from China in the last 24 hours, citing a rise in infections there. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday announced that the RT-PCR test has been made mandatory for passengers coming from five countries including China. "The RT-PCR test to be mandatory for international arrivals from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand. On arrival, if any passenger from these countries is found symptomatic or tests positive for Covid-19 infection, then he/she will be put under quarantine," Health Minister Mandaviya said in a conversation with ANI. Taking note of the rising cases of COVID globally, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said that the Centre and States need to work in "tandem" and in a "collaborative spirit" as was done during the previous surges. Meanwhile, Japan also imposed Mandatory testing for COVID-19 from December 30 upon arrival for travellers from China due to an increase in the number of confirmed cases there, the Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday. The measure applies to travellers from mainland China and those who visited it within the past seven days. They are required to take a COVID-19 test upon their arrival in Japan. Those who test positive will be quarantined for seven days. The Kyodo news agency said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the decision on Tuesday. In November, China saw a record increase in local COVID-19 outbreaks. Due to the deterioration of the epidemiological situation, the authorities introduced partial lockdowns in some areas while also forcing their residents to undergo PCR testing on a daily basis.In particular, starting from November 24, restrictive measures were tightened in a number of China's major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. Against this background, some Chinese cities -- Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and others -- were hit by mass protests. The rioters demanded the immediate lifting of lockdowns, the abolition of regular PCR testing, and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. On Friday, media reported that about 37 million people in China could have contracted COVID-19 on a single day last week, making the country's outbreak the largest in the world.It was noted that up to 248 million people, or nearly 18 per cent of the population, were likely to have contracted the coronavirus in the first 20 days of December. The Embassy of Japan in Beijing has said that many employees of Japanese firms operating in China are getting infected with COVID-19 and are being asked to work from home, NHK World reported. Plants are also functioning with lower capacities in China. Speaking to NHK, Yoshikawa Akinobu, head of the Japan External Trade Organization's office in Qingdao, said that COVID-19 began spreading quickly around December 16. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the parliament today (Wednesday) that her government's various initiatives including open market sale of essentials by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) helped reduce the commodity prices remarkably.   "The pro-people government has taken all kind of steps to keep the prices of essentials at a tolerable level. The prices of the daily commodities have reduced significantly due to the activities of the TCB," she said. She said this while replying to a tabled question from a treasury bench lawmaker Kazim Uddin Ahmed during PM's question-answer session.   Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury presided over the 16th session of the 11th parliament.   Sheikh Hasina, also the Leader of the House, said prices of essentials have gone up significantly across the globe because of the economic meltdown arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic while the Russia-Ukraine war also fuels the price hike worldwide. "As a result, the daily commodities' prices have increased in the world market," she added.   But, she said her government has taken all possible measures to keep the prices of essentials under control, hoping that its prices will also remain at tolerable level during the holy month of Ramadan.    Stating her government’s different initiatives to bring down the daily commodities' prices, the Prime Minister said the one litre bottled soybean oil price was Tk 170 on March 1, which now decreases to Tk 161.50 on April 5.    She said during this period the price of one litre loose soybean oil came down to Tk 155 from Tk 175 while the price of palm oil declined to Tk 142 from Tk 158.   "During the time, the TCB also sold per litre oil can at Tk 110," she added.   The leader of the house mentioned that the lentil price came down to Tk 112.50 on April 5 from Tk 120 while the TCB is selling it at Tk 65 per kilogram.    Loose sugar price decreased to Tk 78 per kilogram on April 5 from Tk 85 on March 1 while the TCB is selling at the price of Tk 55 per kilogram, she added.   Sheikh Hasina said the price of chickpeas was Tk 72.50 on April 5 while it was Tk 77 on March 1 as TCB is selling the item at Tk 50 per kilogram.   Regarding the onion price, she said, on March 1, it was selling at Tk 60 per kilogram while on April 5 it reduced to Tk 31.50 and the TCB is selling it at Tk 20 per kilogram. Source: BSS AH

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Sunday) said her government has been taking required measures to leverage the potentials of the blue economy to further expedite the country's development.   "We have already declared marine resources as the blue economy. We can make our economy more vibrant, stronger and solid using the marine resources and we're taking various measures to this end," she said. The premier was addressing the Mujib Borsha Passing Out of 41st batch of the Marine Fisheries Academy at its campus in Chattogram. She joined the ceremony virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban in the capital. She added that they are out to achieve the SDG-14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development). Sheikh Hasina said, "I hope your role will be the most important to achieve the target." The Prime Minister said her government has successfully achieved the MDGs (millennium development goals) and is set to achieve the SDGs (sustainable development goals). The country's economy is advancing towards prosperity with gaining cherished strength despite the economy has suffered a setback due to the Coronavirus, she said. Fisheries and Livestock Minister S M Rezaul Karim, MP and Secretary of the ministry Dr. Mohammad Yamin Chowdhury, spoke on the occasion. Source: BSS AH

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Thursday) asked the administration for taking extensive measures alongside creating public awareness to check rape incidents. “We would have to take elaborate measures to stop the incidents of rape as nowadays it is being occurred hugely. The most important thing is to create awareness among the people to curb it,” she said. The Prime Minister simultaneously asked the fresh civil administration officers to work towards meeting the aspirations of the people and thus driving Bangladesh towards prosperity so that its people can move around the world keeping their heads high. She said this while addressing the concluding ceremony of the 70th Foundation Training Course for fresh admin cadre service officers being connected from her official Ganabhaban residence in the capital this morning. Officials and the participants got connected from Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) at Savar and the offices of seven divisional commissioners. The premier said her government has already promulgated an ordinance by making necessary amendments to the existing law to stop the heinous acts describing rape as one of the disease of the society. She however, said her government has been working for ensuring justice for all aimed at eliminating the culture of impunity that was established since the assassination of Father of the Nation along with most of his family members on August 15, 1975. Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration Shaikh Yusuf Harun gave the welcome address at the function. On behalf of the Prime Minister BPATC Rector Md Rakib Hossain handed over the awards and certificates among the 663 participants, including 161 female officers, for successfully completing their training. Two of the admin officers, Mehedy Hasan Kawser and Munia Sirat, spoke on the occasion on behalf officers, who completed their six months training course. Describing the people, particularly from the grassroots, as the owner of the country, the Prime Minister called upon the fresh officers to work for serving the people being imbued with the spirit of the Liberation War. She added: “The fresh officers who have completed the training would have to bear in mind that the people, particularly the grassroots ones, are the owner of the country. You are coming out of their houses. So, your main responsibility will be serving the people.” In this context, the premier reminded the freshers a speech of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in which he described the people as the owner of the country as all, including the civil servants, use to live on their money. The premier described the new officers as the future leaders to turn into reality the government’s vision of making Bangladesh a prosperous and developed country free from poverty and hunger by 2041. She continued that her government has been taking each of the plan including the 20-year long perspective plan 2021-2041 and Delta Plan-2100 keeping ahead the target of making Bangladesh a developed country by maintaining the country’ graduation to a developing country from the least development one. “No country can go ahead towards prosperity and no nation can reach its destination without having any philosophy or target. Keeping that in mind, we have given necessary plans before you to guide the country towards development,” she further said. “Now, it is your duty to run the country in such a way that it never goes behind,” she told the freshers. The PM stressed the need for proper training to build public officers as efficient enough to drive the country towards the right direction and said her government has taken a project to build a training academy to this end. She hoped that the work of the training academy would be completed at the quickest possible time as it can provide public officer with the time-befitting training as the world is constantly changing. “The government officers who will take training from the academy will establish an example in the world in terms of efficiency,” she said. Sheikh Hasina said the government has given a huge hike in salary of the government officers alongside giving loans to them for building flats or houses and purchasing cars so that they can devote themselves in their work for the betterment of the country and its people. Following the footsteps of Bangabandhu, her government has been arranging training and higher education abroad for government officers to make them skilled enough to serve the nation. Turning to ensuring justice, the Prime Minister said that her government wanted to eliminate the culture of impunity from the country forever by making sure justice for all. “People have the right to get justice. I know well the pain of getting no justice. I had no right to get justice following the killing of my father, mother and brothers on August 5 in 1975. .. I even was not allowed to file a case despite the assassination of my father, mother and brothers.” Mentioning that an indemnity was given to the killers, she said that they have been able to hold the trials of the killers as they have assumed office. She added,” We want the culture of impunity does not exist in the country. We want no injustice takes place in the country and we want to ensure justice for all.” Spelling out the measures taken by her government particularly in communication, power, education, medicare services, agriculture, commerce and industries for ensuring overall development of the country so none remains homeless, hungry and poor. The Prime Minister asked all particular the fresh officers to follow the health guideline to stay protected from the coronavirus as the world has been rattles by the disease. Source: BSS AH

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today asked all concerned to take prompt measures relating to reconstruction of damaged houses and distribution of cash incentive and relief materials among the people affected by the cyclone ‘Amphan’ that made landfall in Bangladesh on Wednesday evening. “The work on assessment of overall damages of houses, embankments and roads caused by the cyclone as well as distribution of relief materials and safe drinking water and repairing damaged electricity supply lines in the affected areas started from this morning,” said a press release of the Press Wing of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The premier has been monitoring and reviewing round the clock the situation arising out of the cyclone and giving necessary instructions considering the overall condition to mitigate sufferings of the cyclone-hit people, the release quoted PMO Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah as saying. As per the directives of the Prime Minister, Tofazzel said, they asked all the district and upazila officials to work in coordination with the concerned ministries and organizations to estimate the damages caused by Amphan and take measures accordingly. The PMO, particularly its secretary and directors, have already started working on the matter in coordination with the deputy commissioners (DCs) of the cyclone-affected districts and decided to continue the efforts as usual even on the holidays following the premier’s directives, the release said. It said the Prime Minister is seeing files offline and online regularly alongside joining the meetings of cabinet, ECNEC, budget, National Disaster Management Council and video conferences with leaders and grassroots officials of 64 districts in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. “The PMO has been working tirelessly for the last two days to shift the people safely to the cyclone centers by making arrangements for their foods and introducing healthcare facilities as well as maintaining social distancing,” the release added. Source: BSS AH