The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of Sports Ministry has approved the foreign training camp for Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) athletes Mirabai Chanu and Bindyarani Devi's proposal to train in St. Louis, USA. The MOC approved the proposal of athletes in their recent meeting. The Olympic and Commonwealth Games medalists would be training at St. Louis's SQUAT University under Dr Aron Horschig and working on their rehabilitation and strength training process ahead of the upcoming Asian Games. During their 65 foreign training camp, the duo of Mirabai and Bindyarani will be accompanied by Indian Chief Coach Vijay Sharma and their physiotherapist Tesneem Zayyad. The government will cover their air travel expenses, boarding and lodging cost, medical insurance, local transportation cost, gym expenses and doctor's consultation cost among other expenses. Source: assamtribune.com

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ahead of the 2+2 dialogue. Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said that they discussed the latest developments pertaining to Ukraine. "Spoke to @SecBlinken ahead of our 2+2 consultations. Discussed bilateral issues and latest developments pertaining to Ukraine," Jaishankar tweeted. India and United States are scheduled to hold a 2+2 dialogue in Washington on April 11. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will meet their counterparts Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh will also have other meetings scheduled on the sidelines. Source: ANI

The United States of America has sought to reach out to India after President Joe Biden's remarks that New Delhi is a 'shaky' partner among Quad states for its stand on Moscow, asserting that the world's biggest democracy is an essential partner of the grouping in the Indo-Pacific region. India is an essential partner for the US in the Quad in realizing the shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, notwithstanding New Delhi's ties with Moscow, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday. India is an essential partner of the United States as both the countries share the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. When asked how Quad partners see India's stand on Russia, Price said: "We are a partner of India now when it comes to shared interests when it comes to the values we share in a free and open Indo-Pacific. And we've invested in that relationship in terms of our defence and security. So historical relationships notwithstanding, we are a partner of choice for India now, as are many of our partners and allies around the world."   He referred to recent engagements that reinforced Washington's commitment to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region. "The Secretary and the President, respectively, reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific in which the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states are respected, and countries are free from military, economic, and political coercion. In fact, we heard that emanate from the leaders' call on March 3. These are principles that we share with our Quad partners. They also reaffirmed their dedication to the Quad as a mechanism to promote regional stability and security."   While the other Quad countries - the US, Japan and Australia - have sanctioned Russian entities, India has refrained from imposing sanctions.   Source: The Economics Times

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka this morning for New York, USA via Helsinki to attend the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). "A VVIP chartered flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines departed the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), Dhaka for Helsinki carrying the premier and her entourage members around 9:23am today,"  PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told BSS. Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque ,State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali,Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam,Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus and other senior civil and military officials saw the Prime Minister off at the airport. This is the premier's maiden foreign tour after one and a half years since she visited Italy in February, 2020. The Prime Minister will stay in New York from September 19 to 24 as part of an official visit to attend the UNGA and a number of high-level events there. On the way to New York, Sheikh Hasina will make a stopover at Helsinki, the capital of Finland for two days. The Prime Minister will leave Helsinki at 4pm (the Finish capital time) for New York on September 19 and is scheduled to reach John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, USA  at 6 pm local time the same day. During her stay in New York, Sheikh Hasina will address the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters on September 24. The Prime Minister will present her address in Bangla like the previous years following the footprint of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who had delivered his historic speech at the UN in Bangla in 1974. On September 20, Sheikh Hasina will attend a closed-door meeting with a small group of heads of state or government on climate change to be convened by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Later, she will plant a tree and dedicate a bench at the UN Gardens in North Lawn of the UN Headquarters in honour of  Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the occasion of his birth centenary. In the afternoon, the Prime Minister is scheduled to join a virtual programme titled “Sustainable Development Solutions Network”. On September 21, Sheikh Hasina will join the General Debate's opening session at the UN Headquarters, while she will also attend the 'Business Roundtable: US-Bangladesh Business Council' to be organized by Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA. On September 22, the premier will join a high-level meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. Besides, she will participate in the 'White House Global Covid-19 Summit: Ending the Pandemic and Building Back Better and is expected to deliver a speech in the event. In the afternoon on that day, Sheikh Hasina will attend a High Level side event on 'Rohingya crisis: Imperatives for a sustainable solution' and is expected to deliver a pre-recorded speech there. On September 23, the Prime Minister will attend an Event of Leaders’ network on ‘delivering on the UN common agenda: Action to achieve equality and inclusion’ to be organised by Swedish Mission to the UN. She will also join the Food systems Summit as part of the decade of action to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030 to be convened by the UN Secretary General at the UN Headquarters. On the sidelines of the UNGA in New York, Sheikh Hasina will hold bilateral meetings with a number of world leaders. They include Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Barbados Ms. Mia Amor Mottley Q.C., Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and President of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phyc. Besides, she will hold bilateral talks with UN Secretary General Antinio Guterres and President of EU Council Charles Michel. The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Washington D.C. from September 25-30 after her participation in the UNGA session and other events in New York. After wrapping up her USA visit, Sheikh Hasina will leave Washington for Dhaka on September 30 and will return home on October 1 following a stopover in Helsinki. Source: BSS AH

Bangladesh star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, who returned home from the USA early Wednesday, will join a personal training programme next week.  Upon his arrival in Dhaka, Shakib went to his home at Banani. He is supposed to undergo a Covid-19 test tomorrow. If he tests negative, he’ll join the personal training programme next week in Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP) under the supervision of his childhood coach Nazmul Abedin Fahim.  Shakib has currently been serving a two-year-long ban, with one year suspension, imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to failing to report corrupt approaches made to him. The ban will end October this year, and Shakib might be a part of Bangladesh’s Sri Lanka tour in the same month for their first three-match Test series in six years.  Right before accepting the punishment, Shakib had a splendid show in the ICC World Cup 2019, England where he scored two centuries and five half-centuries for the Tigers. Along the way, he became the only cricketer to have scored more than 500 runs and take more than 10 wickets in a single edition of the World Cup.  Source: UNB AH

United States Ambassador in Bangladesh Earl Robert Miller said, USA wants voluntary, safe and permanent repatriation of all Rohingyas and for this reason the country is keeping Myanmar under pressure continuously. The US Ambassador said these while answering questions of newsmen during relief materials distribution among the flood affected people at Natarkandi High School ground under Chilmari upazila in Kurigram district on Saturday. Robert Miller said, continuous pressure should be kept on Myanmar. So far we have imposed ban on several security personnel including Myanmar army chief and it will continue. He said, to cooperate the Bangladesh government for tackling the flood United States have sanctioned one lakh dollars for the flood affected people. He thanked Bangladesh Prime Minister for the Rohingya issue and said, Bangladesh has opened her heart and border for lakhs of people. He also assured nearly five thousand flood affected people of Natarkandi village about cash and other types of assistance under CARE Bangladesh project. The program was inaugurated by the US Ambassador. Deputy Commissioner of Kurigram Sultana Parvin, Police Super Mahibul Islam Khan BPM, USAID Bangladesh Mission Director Derrick Brown, CARE Bangladesh Country Director Zia Chowdhury, Chilmari Upazila Chairman Shawkat Ali Bir Bikram and Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shah Md. Shamsuzzoha among others were present at that time. AH  

United States Ambassador appointed in Bangladesh Robert Miller said, USA wants to see the election of December 30 as violence free and peaceful. He said this to the newsman after holding meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital on Thursday. Robert Miller said, we have told the CEC that we are concerned over the election violence for the last two weeks. Many prominent leaders and even the minorities are being attacked in the violent activities. Most of the prominent leaders are from the opposition parties. We came here to know what is the plan of Election Commission to prevent violence and to make way for the voters to vote for their chosen candidates. USA wants from people of Bangladesh to see a free, fair and participatory election on December 30. He said, UN Secretary General has delivered a message and our demand is the same. There he said for ensuring violence free, peaceful, free and participatory environment from all stakeholders before and after the election. So that all Bangladeshis including the minorities can exercise their voting rights and civil society and monitors can cooperate the election process.   Miller said, the UN Secretary General fully supports free, participatory and peaceful election. AH    

Four people were killed and eight others were injured when a man naked from the waist down and wielding an assault-style rifle opened fire on a Waffle House in Tennessee in USA early Sunday morning local time. The suspected gunman was identified at Travis Reinking (29), who ran from the restaurant near Nashville when a patron wrestled the rifle away from him, police said. Police using dogs and a helicopter were searching a wooded area near the restaurant where the gunman was last seen. Reports ABC News. Chuck Cordero (50), a roadside-assistance worker, told ABC News that he had just pulled up to the Waffle House in the Antioch, a suburb of Nashville when gunfire broke out. ‘He was only wearing a jacket and nothing else on,’ Cordero said of the gunman. He said the first victim, a man, was shot in the head and killed at the front door of the restaurant. He said the second victim was his friend, a cook at the Waffle House, who was outside on a cigarette break when he, too, was fatally shot in the head while trying to run from the gunman. Cordero said the gunman did not say anything during the rampage. He said there were about 30 people inside the Waffle House when the shooting erupted. ‘There's a hero. I don't know what his name is, but there's a gentleman who was in there, who when this guy stopped to reload or stopped to do something with his gun, he took that opportunity and wrestled the guy 'till the gun went flying and then the dude took off running,’ Cordero said. Don Aaron, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, said the suspect arrived at the restaurant in a gold pickup truck and waited four minutes before getting out and unleashing a barrage of gunfire. He said the courageous patron suffered an injured elbow and abrasions while battling the gunman. He was taken to a medical center in Nashville for treatment. Aaron said the gunman shed his jacket while wrestling with the patron and ran from the restaurant, leaving his truck parked outside. The truck was registered to Reinking, he said. Police found several ammunition cartridges in the gunman's jacket left at the scene, Aaron said. AH

The federal government is proposing to collect social media identities from nearly everyone who seeks entry into the United States, according to a State Department filing on Friday, reports Reuters. The proposal, if approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), would require most immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants to list all social media identities they have used in the past five years. The information will be used to vet and identify them, according to the proposals, which would affect about 14.7 million people annually. The proposals support President Donald Trump's promise to institute "extreme vetting" of foreigners entering the United States to prevent terrorism. Previously, under rules instituted last May, consular officials were instructed to collect social media identifiers only when they determined “that such information is required to confirm identity or conduct more rigorous national security vetting,” a State Department official said at the time. The State Department said then that the tighter vetting would apply only to those “who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities.” The American Civil Liberties Union expressed concern, saying the move would have a "chilling" effect on freedom of speech and association. "People will now have to wonder if what they say online will be misconstrued or misunderstood by a government official," Hina Shamsi, director ACLU’s National Security Project, said in a statement. "We’re also concerned about how the Trump administration defines the vague and over-broad term ‘terrorist activities’ because it is inherently political and can be used to discriminate against immigrants who have done nothing wrong," she said. "There is a real risk that social media vetting will unfairly target immigrants and travelers from Muslim-majority countries for discriminatory visa denials, without doing anything to protect national security.” The new proposal was published in the Federal Register on Friday. The public has 60 days to comment on the revised procedures before the OMB approves or rejects them. If approved, the measures also will require applicants to submit five years of previously used telephone numbers, email addresses and their international travel history. They will be asked if they have been deported or removed from any country and whether family members have been involved in terrorist activities, the department said. The State Department intends not to routinely ask most diplomatic and official visa applicants for the additional information, said the Department.   FU