Wolfsburg and Germany star midfielder Lena Oberdorf looks set to swap Wolfsburg for Bayern Munich. The two teams have long battled each other for the Women's Bundesliga title, but does this mark a turning point? Even at this relatively early stage, the Women's Bundesliga once again looks a two-horse race, with Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg reaffirming themselves as a notch above the rest. But the reportedly imminent record-breaking transfer of one of Germany's most sought-after players suggests a significant power shift towards champions Bayern. Lena Oberdorf, the smart, tough-tackling, driving heart of Wolfsburg and Germany's midfield for the last few years is reportedly set to move to Munich for a German record fee of €400,000 (€429,000) at the end of this season. With her contract running out at the end of next season, this was Wolfsburg's last chance to get a fee for her. The financial clout of England's Women's Super League (WSL), French giants Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain as well as Spanish side Barcelona has fueled something of a talent drain from the German top flight in recent years. And while Oberdorf's move to Bayern – and rejection of Chelsea and PSG, keeps one of the country's top talents in the domestic league, it is undoubtedly a blow to the club she will leave behind.   Wolfsburg shedding stars With two Champions League wins and six Bundesliga titles in the last decade, Wolfsburg have been Germany's flag bearers in women's football. But with funding from Volkswagen dwindling in recent years, players like Fridalina Rolfo and Pernille Harder have departed for other leagues and greater financial and sporting opportunities. The signing of fellow German midfielder Janina Minge, announced on Tuesday, will soften the blow of losing Oberdorf somewhat. But with Harder and Magdalena Eriksson joining England midfielder Georgia Stanway as recent arrivals in Munich, and Bayern on course to retain their title this term, the Bavarians appear determined to match the dominance of their men, who have won 11 Bundesliga titles in a row, signing plenty of talent from direct rivals along the way. Nevertheless, Oberdorf's expected move would come as something of a surprise, given her previously stated aversion to Bayern. "I can't imagine joining Bayern," she told German weekly SportBild in 2022, adding that even as a Schalke fan, she backed rivals Dortmund against Bayern when the two were fighting for the men's Bundesliga title. Oberdorf grew up in Gevelsberg, not far from Dortmund, and captained the local boy's team as a young player, an experience, she told The Guardian, was formative. Toughening up "It made me a better player because boys are bigger and stronger and you have to get through them somehow," she said. "I also learned to get rid of the ball very fast because I didn't want to take a bad tackle. But I was used to it from my brother [Tim who now plays for Fortuna Düsseldorf] and sister. When you're with your siblings in the garden you get those tackles because that's how it is with family. You get angry at your brother and tackle him just as hard." While Oberdorf often plays in a more offensive role for Wolfsburg than for Germany, it's her defensive attributes that stand out, those tackles taken and dished out in the garden have stood her in good stead. "I need three or four good tackles in order to get into a match," she told DW during Euro 2022, when she was named the tournament's best young player. "I'm learning to trust my own strengths even more and just throw everything in." The 22-year-old is equally firm off the pitch, criticizing the men's World Cup in Qatar and advocating for LGBT rights in light of Saudi Arabia's proposed sponsorship of last year's World Cup. It looks likely that Oberdorf will see out the current season with Wolfsburg, and try to help them regain the title from Bayern, who lead the league by a point. Even if she manages that, the future is looking increasingly Bavarian.

US ‘Brokered’ Pakistani Weapons Transfer to Ukraine In Lieu Of IMF Bailout – American Media ClaimsAn investigation by the American nonprofit news organization, The Intercept, has revealed how Washington brokered a deal by which secret Pakistani arms sales to the US helped to facilitate a controversial bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Although numerous reports have pointed out that Pakistan has been supplying weapons to Ukraine, these were dismissed as false reports, with neither the Pakistani nor Ukrainian side responding to queries. The revelations, “U.S. Helped Pakistan Get IMF Bailout with Secret Arms Deal for Ukraine,” on September 17, 2023, exposed a devious design more sinister than could have been imagined with the complete involvement of the United States in a ‘Bombs for Bailouts’ plan offered to Pakistan. With access to secret documents and insiders, The Intercept broke the story about a brokered deal that allowed Pakistan’s military to postpone elections, deepen a brutal crackdown, and jail former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Once Khan was ousted and the Pakistan military was at the helm, Islamabad emerged as a supporter of the US and its allies in the Ukraine war. Pakistan was then rewarded with an IMF loan. Backhand Deal Entered In Secret According to the in-depth report, a month before a June 30 deadline for the IMF’s review of a planned billion-dollar payment, Pakistani Ambassador to the US Masood Khan sat down with Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu at the State Department in Washington, D.C. on May 23, for a meeting about how Pakistani arms sales to Ukraine could shore up its financial position in the eyes of the IMF. The Intercept says, “Lu told Khan at the May 23 meeting that the US had cleared payment for the Pakistani munitions production and would tell the IMF confidentially about the program.” On June 29, a day before the original IMF program expires, the IMF announced that instead of extending the previous series of loans, the bank would enter a “Stand-By Arrangement” — with fewer strings attached, more favorable terms, and valued at US$ 3 billion. A source within the Pakistani military leaked papers and emails to The Intercept about the arms transactions to buy Pakistani military weapons for Ukraine, with US officials including American and Pakistani contracts. As part of this arrangement, even the UK’s Ministry of Defence entered a deal with the Pakistan Ordnance Board to supply arms to Ukraine. Slew Of Arms Reach Ukraine From Pakistan As Ukraine grappled with shortages of munitions and hardware, the presence of Pakistani-produced shells and other ordinances by the Ukrainian military has surfaced in open-source news reports about the conflict. However, neither the US nor the Pakistanis have acknowledged the arrangement. Headquartered in Wah Cantt, Punjab, Pakistan, the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) have provided a range of arms and ammunition to the Ukrainian Military. These include: 122mm Yarmuk HE-Frag rockets, 122mm howitzer shells, 155mm artillery shells, M4A2 propelling bag charges, M82 primers, PDM fuses, M44A2 120mm HE mortar bombs, 130mm shells, 40mm RPG7 HEAT ammo, 12.7×99 MM armor-piercing cartridges, 12.7×108 mm bullets, and 7.62×54mm bullets Since Washington brokered the deal, Pakistan has stepped up military supplies to Ukraine via a German port, simultaneously with the Poland route, to transfer rockets for use in multi-barrel rockets. Quid Pro Quo Will Be Military Helicopter Parts To Pakistan As an acknowledgment of Islamabad’s help, Ukraine will supply spare parts for Mi-17 helicopters to Pakistan. The spare parts and helicopter engine, worth US$1.5 million, will be provided by the Ukrainian company Motor Sich JSC to Pakistan. Of course, the quality of Pakistani weapons is another matter. Ukrainian military leaders have reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of rockets supplied by Pakistan. There are reports of Pakistani ammunition causing injuries to Ukrainian soldiers. Zelensky’s commanders from the 17th Tank Battalion are complaining about the poor-quality rockets. The commander in Bakhmut of Ukraine’s eastern region said the missiles from Pakistan are “not of a good quality.” Meanwhile, as increasing reports of Pakistani supplies of weapons to Ukraine surfaced, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova visited India in April 2023. She tried to assure New Delhi that Ukraine, for many years, “has had military contracts with Pakistan” and that Kyiv’s relations with Islamabad are not targeted against India More recently, Ukraine and Pakistan have come out in the open about reports claiming Pakistan supplied weapons to Kyiv amid war with Russia. On July 20, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held a joint press conference where they agreed to reinvigorate their bilateral agreements. A planned ‘Ukrainian-Pakistani Commission on Economic Cooperation’ will likely be inaugurated soon. Pakistan is set to supply fresh arms consignments as Ukraine faces a depleting Western weapons stockpile amid a ‘failed counter-offensive’ against Russia. According to a report in the Economic Times, close on the heels of the Ukrainian foreign minister’s visit, Islamabad has approached a Gulf state for shipping the next consignment of arms to Kyiv via Poland. Pakistani shipping firm Project Shipping contacted a shipping firm in the Gulf to identify vessels bearing US flags to ship cargo of 150 containers of 25mm cartridges to Ukraine. Pakistan Sets Up Firm In Warsaw For Ukraine Arms Pakistan defense trading firm Kestral Trading has established a firm in Warsaw, under the name ‘Balferrten Investments’ to take care of the logistics of supplies to Ukraine. But even as Pakistan is said to supply weapons to Ukraine to make profits constantly, Russian President Vladimir has signed a memorandum to develop Afghanistan’s thermal coal power sector. While Pakistan was already expected to be part of the energy deal with Russia and Iran, including Afghanistan is likely to irk Islamabad given the current tussle between Islamabad and Kabul over border issues. When it comes to doing business with the West during the war, Pakistan has again found its ground in the Ukraine war, just as it did almost four decades ago during the Afghan war and after 9/11. At the start of the war in February 2022, Pakistan sent military and humanitarian assistance to bolster Kyiv’s ground forces. Now that these reports of brokered deals over the IMF bailout surface, it would not be far-fetched to reflect that Pakistan was removed from the FATF grey list when it began supplying weapons and other aid to Ukraine at the bidding of the West. Discredited for being a terror state, Pakistan is now using the Ukraine war to regain its favored status as a faithful ally of the West.

The meeting between President Jair Bolsonaro and president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's advisers comes as Bolsonaro continues not to speak about his election defeat directly himself. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro met president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's advisers on Thursday starting the process of transition of power after his recent election loss. The meeting comes as Bolsonaro is still yet to directly address his own defeat after Sunday's election results gave leftist Lula a narrow victory over his far-right opponent. Geraldo Alckmin, the vice president-elect in charge of Lula's transition team, met with Ciro Nogueira, the head of Bolsonaro's Cabinet, in the capital Brasilia. "The conversation was very fruitful, very objective," Alckmin later said. "The transition has begun ... As Lula said in his victory speech, our task is to unite Brazil. So here we go." Alckmin said that they would start revealing the transition team's composition on Monday. Lula has difficult fight ahead in Congress Earlier, Alckmin, a seasoned center-right politician known for being business-friendly, met with Marcelo Castro, the Senate's budget rapporteur, for what he described as another "fruitful" discussion. Castro was looking for ways to integrate important Lula campaign pledges into the highly constrained 2023 federal budget. President-elect Lula also faces an uphill battle in the Congress. There, three of the four largest parties will be right-wing or center-right, with Bolsonaro's Liberal Party (PL) the largest single group. Lula's primary challenge will be delivering on his electoral pledges to solve the failing economy, the food crisis, and the widespread devastation of the Amazon rainforest. The 77-year-old Lula, who presided over Brazil from 2003 to 2010, was elected to an unprecedented third term, crowning an incredible return for the former metalworker who had been released from jail three years prior on the basis of since-quashed corruption charges. Roadblocks called off This year's election was the closest yet since Brazil's return to democracy in 1985. Lula defeated Bolsonaro by just over 2 million votes, at 50.9% to 49.1%. Tensions were rife after Bolsonaro did not concede defeat publicly and his supporters blocked highways across the country demanding military action to overturn the election results. There had been considerable speculation that Bolsonaro, following the example of former US President Donald Trump, would raise allegations of fraud and contest the results of Sunday's election.  Bolsonaro's chief of staff did say the president would cooperate with the transition of power after Bolsonaro's first public appearance following the election results on Tuesday. But the president did not concede defeat or congratulate Lula himself.  Nor did he on Wednesday when appealing  to his supporters to clear the blockades. In a video, the Brazilian president said, "I know you're upset. I'm just as sad and upset as you are. But we have to keep our heads straight." By Thursday afternoon, there were 32 roadblocks, down from 250 on Tuesday, according to officials.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today urged the developed countries to transfer latest technology to check human trafficking as it is a trans-boundary crime while traffickers may possess better technology than it is available in a particular country.    "The developed country and the international partners need to ensure smooth transfer of the latest technological innovations to the developing countries to effectively combat the human trafficking in persons," he said. The foreign minister was speaking at the national consultation on 'Combating Human Trafficking in the Context of Technology Use and its Abuse', organized by the Public Security Division and the Bangladesh UN Network on Migration at a city hotel.  Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and high government officials as well as representatives from foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations were also present.  Dr Momen said Bangladesh missions abroad are engaged to create awareness among the expatriates to help them not to fall victims to human trafficking. "We remain vigilant to protect our citizens from falling victims to trafficking - fraudulent and forced labour - in any forms," he said.   The foreign minister said his ministry launched a dynamic mobile application named DUTABASH to provide consular and welfare services at home and abroad.  In case of emergency support, he said a citizen can press the SOS button for 3 seconds and an emergency support request will be forwarded to a Bangladesh Mission with his or her pre-registered information.  He said any incident of human trafficking abroad can also be reported through hotline numbers as all missions abroad have a dedicated hotline number, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.  Momen said the foreign ministry conducts rescue operations and arranges the repatriation of the victims of trafficking in person in coordination with the missions abroad and relevant government agencies.  He informed that, since September 2021, the government has repatriated around 2500 victims of trafficking.  Regarding awareness building, he referred to the recent town hall meeting held by MOFA in Shariatpur and similar programme in Sylhet; and informed that MOFA will hold such awareness building activities in other districts too.  The foreign minister reiterated Bangladesh government's 'zero-tolerance' policy against human trafficking, and emphasized the need of having latest modern technology by the law enforcers to combat human trafficking.  Recalling that the government stopped high-speed internet facilities in Rohingya camps to reduce human trafficking and other trans-boundary crimes, he said, however, this has to be reopened as per the demand of western countries.  Depicting Bangladesh's ratification of a number of international instruments on human trafficking as well as enacting necessary national laws, he said, the government is serious about its international commitments and national obligations related to combating human trafficking.  Momen underscored the need to have a comprehensive view on illegal migration and human trafficking and said that the existing economic disparity among developed and developing countries is indeed the root cause of large scale unsafe and irregular migration.  "Therefore, we all, especially the developed countries, come forward with adequate resources, not only advice, to help reduce the gap of economic disparity and job opportunity between the rich and poor countries," he said.   The foreign minister urged the developed nations to become more humane to all migrants, and to work closely with developing countries to enhance safe and orderly migration.  Source: BSS AH

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Thursday in coordination with the Indian World Forum and the Government of India commenced the transfer of distressed Afghan minorities – Hindus and Sikhs. A special flight comprising 11 Afghan Sikhs from Kabul to New Delhi was arranged at 11.30 am today which included Raqbir Singh who was injured in the Karte Parwan Gurdwara attack in Kabul on June 18 and the ashes of Sawinder Singh, killed in the attack. SGPC provided humanitarian assistance to the Afghan minorities by paying for their airfare. Kam Air, the largest private Afghan airline, flight no 4401 is airborne from Kabul and is expected to land in New Delhi at 12:45 pm. The Sikh body also reiterated to provide financial aid to those seeking rehabilitation in India. Officials of SGPC and Afghan Hindu and Sikh Community leaders were present at the airport to facilitate the distressed Afghan minorities. After their arrival, the entire group will be leaving for Gurdwara Sri Guru Arjan Dev, K Block, Tilak Nagar. Harjinder Singh, President, SGPC, and Indian World Forum have directed their officials to facilitate these distressed persons at the highest level. Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) attacked Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Afghanistan’s Kabul city. ISKP released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. According to ISKP, ‘Abu Mohammed al Tajiki’ carried out the attack which lasted for three hours. The group claimed that besides submachine guns and hand grenades, four IEDs and a car bomb were also used in the attack. It further claimed that about 50 Hindu Sikhs and Taliban members were killed in the attack and the attack was conducted as revenge for the insult of Prophet Mohammed by an Indian politician. However, in the attack, at least two civilians, including a Sikh man and a Muslim security guard, died and seven others were wounded. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday condemned the terrorist attack at Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Afghanistan’s capital. Religious minorities in Afghanistan, including the Sikh community, have been targets of violence in Afghanistan. In October, last year 15 to 20 terrorists entered a Gurdwara in the Kart-e-Parwan District of Kabul and tied up the guards. In March 2020, a deadly attack took place at Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib Gurudwara in Kabul’s Short Bazaar area in which 27 Sikhs were killed and several were injured. Islamic State terrorists claimed responsibility for the attack. Source: ZEE5

Myanmar’s army on Monday said it will hold fresh elections and hand power to the winning party once a year-long state of emergency has elapsed, hours after carrying out a coup. “We will perform real multi-party democracy… with complete balance and fairness,” a statement on the army’s official Facebook page said. It added that power will be transferred after “holding a free and fair general election and the emergency provisions period is complete.” Source: AFP AH

The High Court (HC) on Thursday rejected a plea of Aysha Siddika Minni seeking transfer of the case filed against her over the murder of her husband Rifat Sharif from Barguna to Dhaka court. The bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice SM Mozibur Rahman rejected the petition citing that it was not pressed. Minni filed the plea on February 9. Advocate ZI Khan Panna and Makkiya Fatema Islam stood for the petitioner while Deputy Attorney General FR Khan represented the state. Rifat Sharif was hacked to death in broad daylight in the district town of Barguna on June 26 last year. He was attacked with sharp weapons near the main gate of Barguna Government College while his wife Minni appeared to be trying to protect him from the attackers. Twenty-four people were accused in the murder case filed by Rifat’s father. The young man’s wife, Minni, initially named as a witness, was later arrested on July 16, and made an accused in the case. The main accused, Sabbir Ahmed alias Nayon Bond, was killed in a reported gunfight with law enforcers on July 2. The High Court on August 29 granted bail to Minni on conditions that she would remain in her father’s custody and refrain from talking to the media. Source: UNB AH

The High Court has issued rule asking to know why not stand release order of Pirojpur District and Sessions Judge Abdul Mannan will not be declared illegal. The High Court bench led by Justice Tarique Ul Hakim issued the rule citing the reports published on the newspapers on Wednesday. Lawyer M Abdul Kayum said that Law Secretary was asked to answer the rule and the court fixed the date for delivering order on next Wednesday. Mentionable, Pirojpur District and Sessions Judge Abdul Mannan on Tuesday ordered to send former lawmaker of Pirojpur AKMA Awal and his wife Laila Parvin to jail in connection with a corruption case. Later the Judge Abdul Mannan was transferred following demonstration staged by the supporters of Pirojpur district Awami League president Awal. In the afternoon after taking charge as the acting District and Sessions Judge Nahid Nasrin granted bail for the Awami League leader Awal and his wife. AH     

State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak said that the transfer order of Consumer Rights Protection Directorate’s Dhaka divisional office Deputy Director Manjur Mohammad Shahriar was suspended following the order of the Prime Minister. Zunaid Ahmed Palak delivered the information through his verified facebook page on Tuesday. On Monday during a drive at Uttara outlet of Aarong Manjur Mohammad Shahriar fined four lakh fifty thousand taka and closed the outlet for pricing two types of rate for the same type of dresses. After admitting the wrongdoing by the outlet authority it was opened. Manjur Shahriar while conducting drive during the month of Ramadan also fined different firms. Zunaid Ahmed Palak in his verified facebook page wrote, there were strong criticisms throughout the social media when Deputy Secretary Manjur Shahriar was transferred to Khulna on the day of his drive in Aarong. Deputy Director of Consumer Rights Protection Directorate Manjur Mohammad Shahriar was much praised for his role against the anti adulteration and price hiking drives on the occasion of Eid. As the matter was much discussed on the social media so it came to the notice of daughter of Bangabandhu       and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who is visiting Finland at the moment. Later on June 4 the authority cancelled the transfer order of Manjur Mohammad Shahriar. Public Administration Secretary Fayez Ahmed also confirmed the matter of cancelling transfer order of Manjur Mohammad Shahriar to the media. AH  

The 20-party alliance has demanded for transfer of biased Deputy Commissioners (DC) and Police Supers (SP). They also demanded for not appointing PS and APSs of ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers as the Assistant Returning Officers. Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman and one of the alliance leaders Colonel Oli Ahmad (retd) said these to the newsmen after holding a meeting between 20-party delegation and Election Commission (EC) on Sunday. Oli Ahmad said, EC has listened to our 13-point demand and gave assurance to implement those. As the delegation chief he said, we do not want punishment for the disputed officers, we want transfer. For the sake of holding a fair election it is necessary to transfer officers from one district to another. Level playing field is yet to be created. Police are arresting our leaders and activists. There is no reflection of EC’s directions in the field. Oli Ahmad said, till today EC cannot prove that they are working impartially. We know that they have limitations but EC is agreed to the 13 point proposals that we have submitted. The letter consisting the demands of 20-party alliance said, list of disputed officers was given to EC on behalf of Jatiya Oikyafront. Demand was made to transfer them to other places during election period. 20-party representative team also thinks that it is important to implement those. To hold a fair election EC in past took this type of steps. The letter also said, despite EC’s direction ministers and MPs are continuing election campaign in their electoral areas using all government facilities. The 20-party alliance thinks that during the election period government owned radio and television channels should remain under control of EC. To ensure neutrality of nongovernment mass media it needs to formulate a guide line on behalf of the EC. BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, Bangladesh Kalyan Party chairman Major General Syed Mohammad Ibrahim (retd) among others were present at that time. AH