Luis Suarez grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser after Lionel Messi had reduced the deficit as Inter Miami fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup round-of-16 tie on Thursday. Canadian winger Jacob Shaffelburg had put Nashville 2-0 up with a pair of superbly taken goals before Miami's comeback. The goals from the former Barcelona forwards, who had scored a brace each in the 5-0 win over Orlando on Saturday, make Miami favourites for Wednesday's return in South Florida with a place in the quarter-finals on the line. Miami had beaten Nashville on penalties in the final of the Leagues Cup last season and returned for the debuts in regional competition of Messi, Busquets and Suarez. Coach Gerardo 'Tata' Martino handed a debut to new Argentine signing Federico Redondo in midfield but was without Spaniard Jordi Alba, suffering from illness. But Miami were soon reeling after Nashville's Shaq Moore broke through from midfield and fed Shaffelburg who blasted past Drake Callender with a left-foot drive from the edge of the box. The Canadian, with the distinctive mullet haircut, doubled the lead two minutes after the interval with an even better finish, cutting in from the left before unleashing an unstoppable shot with his right foot high into the far top corner. Miami responded strongly though and six minutes later Messi had pulled a goal back with a trademark left-footed curler. Suarez set him up on the edge of the box and despite having four defenders in close proximity, the Argentine World Cup-winner found space to work the ball on to his left foot and then find the corner. - Suarez equaliser - Miami had an effort from Diego Gomez disallowed for offside but Nashville weren't ready to set their backs against the wall just yet. Moore cut in from the right and beat Callender to send the 26,000 crowd wild but a VAR review found that Moore had been narrowly offside from earlier in the move and the goal was disallowed. But then deep in stoppage time, the ball was fed out to Busquets on the right and the Spanish veteran floated in a cross which was headed home by Suarez. Earlier, Monterrey's USA striker Brandon Vazquez scored on his return to his former club Cincinnati as the Mexican club enjoyed a 1-0 win in their CONCACAF Champions Cup, round of 16, first-leg tie on Thursday. Cincinnati, who won the Supporters' Shield for the best regular season record in Major League Soccer last season, had started brightly and had the ball in the net in the 18th minute but Corey Baird's effort was ruled out for offside. Six minutes later though, the Liga MX team were ahead and it was the former home favourite Vazquez who produced the breakthrough. Maximiliano Mesa found the forward in the box and his right-foot effort crept under the body of Cincinnati keeper Roman Celentano, who should have done much better. It was Vazquez's seventh goal in 11 appearances since joining the five-times CONCACAF champions in and will strengthen his case for inclusion in Gregg Berhalter's USA squad for the upcoming Nations League Final Four. Monterrey were reduced to ten men in the 70th minute when a VAR review ruled that Rodrigo Aguirre had struck Baird, off the ball, before a corner. With their numerical advantage for the final 20 minutes, Cincinnati piled on the pressure but Monterrey keeper Esteban Andrada kept out a Sergio Santos effort after good work from Luciano Acosta.

The sanctions imposed by the US and the European Union on Friday, against several people and companies for supporting Russia 's war in Ukraine also included several companies from China, the Voice of America (VOA) reported. Although most of the sanctions were against Russians and Russian firms, the US and EU measures also included Chinese individuals and companies based in mainland Chinese cities as well as Hong Kong for supplying the Russian military. Moreover, they also included sanctions against Russian prison officials over the suspicious death of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. Russia's foreign ministry denounced the sanctions as "illegal" and said it would respond by banning some EU citizens who provided military assistance to Ukraine from entering Russia, according to VOA. Chinese officials did not issue an immediate response to the sanctions. However, China's foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, commented on the expected sanctions on Tuesday at a regular briefing and said China follows an "objective and impartial position on the Ukraine crisis" and has "worked actively to promote peace talks." She further said that they "have not sat idly by, still less exploited the situation for selfish gains." Moreover, Ukrainian officials and media reports have also accused Chinese companies of supplying key electronics and dual-use technologies, including drone components, to Russia's military since its invasion of Ukraine two years ago. However, Beijing has denied their claim, according to VOA. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen preempted Friday's official announcement on social media, stating, "I welcome the agreement on our 13th sanctions package against Russia. We must keep degrading Putin's war machine. With 2000 listings in total, we keep the pressure high on the Kremlin. We are also further cutting Russia's access to drones." Reportedly, the sanctioned individuals and companies are banned from doing business with US or European firms. However, legal and political analysts disagreed on the effectiveness of the sanctions. Lawyer Mark Handley, a partner at the Philadelphia-headquartered law firm Duane Morris LLP, said being sanctioned will certainly affect their international business. "Things like international insurance companies or shipping could get very complicated once they are on the sanctions list." However, Pieter Cleppe, editor-in-chief for BrusselsReport.eu, told VOA, "Historical research has shown that sanctions mostly fail, especially when prolonged, as is the case with Russia. The targeted country learns to cope with them." He added, "While sanctions may impoverish ordinary Russians, they have failed to halt the Russian offensive, which should be the goal." The Yermak-McFaul International Working Group on Russian Sanctions and the Ukrainian think tank KSE Institute published a report in January, showing that sanctioned technology has still been reaching Russia's military through third-country intermediaries, which the EU and the US hope the fresh measures will stop. Junhua Zhang, senior assistant researcher at the Brussels-based European Institute for Asian Studies, said the EU's highest expectation "is for China to align with the EU in resisting Russia's aggression, which is unrealistic. The EU's minimum expectation is for Chinese companies not to work for Russia, but strictly speaking, only fools would have such an expectation." "Just consider (Chinese President) Xi Jinping sees Putin as his best friend, and those below him will act accordingly, a point that Europeans also recognize," Zhang added, as reported by VOA. However, others argued that sanctions on Chinese firms could push Beijing to reconsider. Aliona Hlivco, a former Ukrainian lawmaker and managing director at the London-based think tank the Henry Jackson Society, said that sanctions against Chinese companies could prove useful in deterring Russia's war on Ukraine. "China is currently attempting to improve relations with the West, so reinforcing China's compliance with international norms could be opportune," Hlivco said. It is pertinent to mention that the EU is China's second-largest trading bloc partner after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. In 2023, while Russia lost most of its European market owing to the sanctions, the bilateral trade between China and Russia hit a record high of USD 240 billion, a year-on-year increase of 26.3 per cent, VOA reported. However, trade between the US and China in 2023 fell for the first time since 2019 by 11 per cent to USD 664 billion, according to customs data. According to the Commerce Department, the US imported more goods from Mexico than China for the first time in 20 years.   Source: Dailyhunt

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched numerous attacks on international ships in the Red Sea, prompting a series of warnings from the US and others. Joe Biden hailed the "united and resolute" response. The United States and Britain on Friday began carrying out strikes against sites used by the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. US officials said targets included logistical hubs, air defense systems and weapons storage locations. US media reported that the strikes involved fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles. The Houthis are backed by Iran and control large swathes of western Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa.   Biden hails 'united' response to 'reckless' Houthi attacks US President Joe Biden said the strikes represented a "united and resolute" response to Houthi attacks on international ships and that the US would "not hesitate to direct further measures" against the militant group. "The response of the international community to these reckless attacks has been united and resolute," he said in a statement released by the White House.  Biden said the US and UK strikes were carried out with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands. "These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical commercial routes," he said. In a separate statement, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also confirmed the strikes, saying the UK took "limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defense" in order to "degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping." "Despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea," he said.   Houthi official warns of retaliation Meanwhile, Houthi leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi vowed retaliation involving dozens of drones. "The response to any American attack will not only be at the level of the operation that was recently carried out with more than 24 drones and several missiles," he said. "It will be greater than that." "We will confront the American aggression," he said. Houthi Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Al Ezzi said in a statement posted by the rebels' Al Masirah broadcaster that the US and UK will pay a "heavy price" for the strikes. "Our country was subjected to a massive aggressive attack by American and British ships, submarines, and warplanes," he said. "America and Britain will have to be prepared to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression."   Houthi attacks in the Red Sea Houthi rebels have, in recent weeks, launched numerous attacks on international ships in the Red Sea in reaction to the Israeli military operation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The route through the Suez Canal accounts for around 15% of the world's shipping traffic. The US military said Thursday that Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden. This was the 27th attack by the group since November 19. The US and its allies have issued a series of warnings to the Houthis to cease their attacks on ships. On January 3, 12 countries warned the group of "consequences" if they did not halt the attacks. On Wednesday, the UN Security Council approved a resolution demanding an immediate end to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.   Source: Deutsche Welle

The government today (Wednesday) fixed the merchandise export target for the current fiscal year (2022-23) at $58.0 billion which is 11.36 percent higher than the real export earnings of the last fiscal year (2021-22). The export target from the services sector for the FY23 has been fixed at $9.0 billion which is 12.50 percent higher than the actual earnings from the services sectors in the last fiscal year. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi unveiled the export target both for merchandise and services sectors at a press conference at his secretariat office in the capital. The minister is hopeful that the target would be achieved as the international buyers are placing work orders in Bangladesh even at the time of volatile global situation. Tipu said the Russia-Ukraine war impacts have also been considered in fixing the export target for the current fiscal year. In the last fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $52.08 billion from merchandise shipment which is 19.73 percent higher than the target of $43.5 billion, according to data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). Similarly, some $8.0 billion was earned from the services sectors against the target of $7.5 billion which is 6.67 percent higher than the target. Overall, both from merchandise and services sectors, some $60.08 billion was earned in the last fiscal year (FY22) registering 17.80 percent higher growth than the target of $51.0 billion, the EPB data said. Source: BSS AH

The achievement of reaching the highest-ever mark of USD 50 billion worth of agriculture exports was attained through multiple steps taken by the Department of Commerce to turn India into the food basket for the world, said Commerce Ministry officials on Sunday. Speaking to ANI, the Commerce Ministry officials said that the previous highest mark was in 2013-14 at USD 43 billion after which the exports saw a free fall of sorts and suffered a USD 10 billion decrease in the figure by 2016-17 after which Department of Commerce identified four main reasons for the decrease in Agri-exports. "First, there was a disconnect between production and export of agricultural produce. Second, the State Government and farmers were not well acquainted with the concept of export-oriented production," the officials said. The Piyush Goyal-led Ministry also found out that the States were taking exports as the domain of the central government only and also the lack of agriculture export infrastructure and expertise with the state governments.   The Department of Commerce charted out a plan to address these issues and "for the first time reached out to not just the States but also at the district and village level farmers. "Our officials spread awareness and informed farmers that if there would be a surplus agriculture produce, Government of India will export it as the government wanted to help agriculture and its allied sectors as they provide the largest source of livelihoods in India," the officials said. Officials said the exports in the Agriculture sector have gone up despite the COVID-19 global pandemic where the demand for food had gone up globally but the issues of lockdowns closed offices and roads were creating huge issues. "But Department of Commerce through Indian Missions abroad and interacted through Virtual Buyer-Seller meets, removed many bottlenecks, coordinated with port or customs or State or district authorities, etc., to meet the increased global demand," the officials said. The officials said the Department of Commerce also supported States in identifying respective infrastructure bottlenecks, logistics constraints, requirements of post-harvest infrastructure etc. to address the same. Further, steps were taken to identify new markets, increase footprint in existing markets, analyze requirements and tariff structure of the new markets, etc. They said that even though the country has reached USD 50 billion mark in Agriculture exports, the country has not yet reached its full potential in the export of agriculture products. Due to the efforts of the government, in 2021-22, India exported around USD 10 billion in rice, with a 50 per cent share in the world's rice exports; the highest ever export of marine products (USD 8 billion), sugar (USD 4.5 billion), wheat (USD 2 billion) and coffee (USD 1 billion); USD 4 billion meat, dairy and poultry products exports, USD 4 billion spices exports and USD 3 billion cotton exports.   Source: The Economic Times

India has achieved the export target of USD 418 billion this year and the latest figure of exports is close to USD 419.5 billion, said Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday. Goyal told a press conference, "You all are aware that we have achieved the export target of USD 418 billion this year. According to the new figures that have just come out, we are close to USD 419.5 billion." He said that after achieving the 'goods export target' of over USD 400 billion, India has achieved yet another milestone by accomplishing the 'service export target' of USD 250 billion for the financial year 2021-22. The Union Minister said that new economic cooperation and trade agreements with Australia and UAE would open 10 lakhs job opportunities in sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, leather goods and jewellery. "Countries across the globe are working in partnership with India. The India-UAE agreement will give a minimum of 10 lakh jobs and India-Australia FTA (Free Trade Agreement) will provide another 10 lakh jobs in textile, pharmaceuticals, leather goods, gems and jewellery sectors," Goyal said. Yesterday, while delivering the keynote address at the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the 'Confederation of Indian Textile Industry- Cotton Development and Research Association' (CITI- CDRA) in New Delhi, the Union Minister said that new economic cooperation and trade agreements with Australia and UAE would open infinite opportunities for sectors such as textiles, handloom, footwear. He said that Indian textile exports to Australia and UAE would now face zero duty and expressed confidence that soon Europe, Canada, the UK and GCC countries would also welcome Indian textile exports at zero duty. Goyal said the Indian textile Industry has the potential to achieve USD 100 billion dollars in exports by 2030. He applauded CITI-CDRA for working towards developing a robust cotton ecosystem by directly engaging about 90,000 cotton farmers. The Minister observed that more than just fibre, cotton has been an integral part of Indian culture, lifestyle and tradition. Source: Business Standard  

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today (Wednesday) approved the draft of "Export Policy 2021-2024", setting the US$80 billion export target for FY2024.      The approval came from this year's 1st meeting of the CCEA held virtually with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair.      Briefing reporters virtually after the meeting, Kamal informed that the existing export target of Bangladesh is $60 billion.      "All exporters will get uniformed facilities under the export policy. Besides we will provide policy support regarding challenges over Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)," he said.      He mentioned that the government will emphasize on recycling, research and development to achieve the target.      Responding to a question, Kamal said Bangladesh will never fall in the middle-income trap as its own resources and funds are being used in the country's development.      Vietnam's economy depends on foreign investments and they cannot be compared with Bangladesh, he added.      Bangladesh recorded its highest ever single-month export earnings amounting to $4.91 billion in December last year, thanks to a strong rebound in demand for apparel in western markets even amid the Omicron spread.      The export receipts surpassed the $3.91 billion target set for the month, registering more than 48 percent year-on-year growth, according to provisional data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). Source: BSS AH

Bangladesh posted an ordinary figure of 173 runs for all ahead of mighty India in their first Super-Four stage battle of the 14th Asia Cup at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday. Sent in to bat first, Bangladesh faced seatback from the beginning and lost wickets in gradual interval until skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Mehidy Hasan Miraz stand for a partnership of 66 off 13.1 overs in the 8th wicket when the innings total overs was 49.1. Mashrafe [26 off 32b; 2x6] and top-scorer Miraz [42 off 50b; 2x4; 2x6] started after the dismissal of Mosaddek Hossain on 101/7 in 33.2 overs and carried the tally to 167/8 in 46.3 overs before Mashrafe was caught by Jasprit Bumrah off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Miraz was caught by Shikhar Dhawan off Jasprit Bumrah leaving team total at 169/9 in 47.2 overs. Earlier, Mahmudullah Riyad [25 off 51b; 3x4] and Mosaddek [12off 43b] hold their nerve a bit after Bangladesh passed through a blow of a five-wicket loss within the 18th over for 65, but Mahmudullah was lbw by Bhuvneshwar Kumar to fall apart from the 6th wicket on Bangladesh’s 101 in 32.5 overs. Bangladesh’s another big hope, Mushfiqur Rahim [21off 45b; 1x4] was sent back to the pavilion in the last ball of the 18th over being caught by Yuzvendra Chahal off Ravindra Jadeja. Senior all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan [17 off 12b; 3x4] came in to the crease when Bangladesh had already suffered an early jolt with 16/2 in 5.1 overs, losing both their opening batsmen -Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Liton Kumar Das. Shakib could have recovered the early damage, but the talismanic all-rounder paired with Mushfiq only for a 26 off 27 balls. He was caught by Shikhar Dhawan, playing a poor and shoddy shot off Ravindra Jadeja after two successive boundaries in the 10th over. Mohammad Mithun also failed to stay long with Mushfiq as followed Shakib soon as lbw by Ravindra Jadeja on 60/4 in 15.4 overs. Sending in to bat first, Bangladesh opened the innings and Liton was sent back to the pavilion by Bhuvneshwar Kumar at 15 in the third ball of the fourth over before Jasprit Bumrah got Shanto in the first balls of the sixth over. Scoring a seven-run each, Liton and Shanto were caught by Kedar Jadhav and by Shikhar Dhawan respectively. Ravindra Jadeja (4/29), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/32) and Jasprit Bumrah (3/37) shared all wickets for India with conceding runs. Source: UNB AH

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said that there would be no ambitious target in the next national budget for fiscal year 19 while the budget size is likely to be in between Taka 4 lakh 60 thousand crore and Taka 4 lakh 75 thousand crore. Reports BSS. ‘We'll won't keep any ambitious target in the next national budget for fiscal year 19 as it will be an election year........the tentative figures for the budget is around Taka 4 lakh 60 thousand crore to Taka 4 lakh 75 thousand crore,’ he told a pre-budget meeting with the members of four parliamentary standing committees. Members of parliamentary standing committee on Finance, Planning, Public Accounts and Public Undertakings put forward their various suggestions before the finance minister in the meeting on Sunday. State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan and secretaries concerned were also present at the meeting held at the NEC conference room in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area. The Finance Minister said human development would continue to enjoy the highest priority in the next budget like the previous years' followed by education, health, and water supply. ‘But, in terms of allocation, transport and energy would get the highest allocation,’ he added. Based on the performance of the revised budget for current fiscal year, the minister said the revenue generation scenario is good compared to the previous years and hopefully it will continue its momentum. Muhith said although there is usual trend of shortfall in the implementation of development budget, but the implementation of the Annual Development Program (ADP) in the first eight months of the current fiscal year is quite encouraging as it touched 35 percent. AH

England collapsed to 195 all out in their second innings to set Australia a 170-run target on Day 4 of the first Test at The Gabba, Brisbane on Sunday. Skipper Joe Root top-scored with 51, while Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon took three wickets each. Hazlewood claimed the prize wicket of Root to have England in trouble before lunch. He trapped England captain Root leg before wicket to send the tourists tumbling to 119-5 at the interval. Root looked in good touch with his 160-minute stay before Hazlewood rapped him on the pad to the jubilation of the Australian team. Root did not seek a review and left the ground with England in trouble. Moeen Ali (40) and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow (42) tried to revive the innings, but failed against a disciplined Aussie attack. Earlier, off-spinner Nathan Lyon removed opener Mark Stoneman to a low catch at slip by Peter Handscomb for 27 and followed up with the wicket of Dawid Malan for four shortly after drinks.