Kabir Humayun: Malay-sia was set to launch a major crackdown on undocumented migrant workers after the end of a scheme yesterday. It allowed them to turn themselves in, but critics say human trafficking victims could be wrongly targeted instead, reports Reuters. The Southeast Asian nation relies heavily on foreign domestic helpers as well as…
M Humayun Kabir: The 4th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit successfully concluded in Kathmandu yesterday after issuing an 18-point Kathmandu Declaration. Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli handed over the chairmanship of the grouping to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, reports The Statesman. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina…
Reuters: Turkey needs Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries and will procure them as soon as possible, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday. The United States has expressed concern that NATO ally Turkey’s planned deployment of the S-400s could risk the security of some U.S.-made weapons and other technology used by Turkey, including the F-35 jet….
The Guardian, UK: A rail project meant to connect North and South Korea has been blocked by US military officials, highlighting divisions between Washington and Seoul on how to deal with the nuclear armed North. The two Koreas planned to begin a joint field study last week by sending a train from Seoul across the…
Reuters: The United Nations refugee agency called on Greek authorities on Friday to speed up the transfer of eligible asylum-seekers to the mainland, saying the situation at an overcrowded reception center on Lesbos island was “reaching boiling point”. Lesbos, not far from Turkey in the northeast Aegean Sea, was the preferred entry point into…
Hindustan times: A robot submarine able to hunt and kill the predatory crown-of-thorns starfish devastating the Great Barrier Reef was unveiled by Australian researchers on Friday. Scientists at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) said the robot, named the RangerBot and developed with a grant from Google, would serve as a “robo reef protector” for…
Wionews: US President Donald Trump is prepared to quickly ramp up a trade war with China and has told aides he is ready to impose tariffs on $200 billion more in Chinese imports as soon as a public comment period on the plan ends next week, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The White House declined…
Barrister Nadim Ahmed, Associate lawyer, FM Associates : Rampant use of harmful chemicals like formalin, additives and other toxic materials have only led the food suppliers to banks while it landed the consumers, especially children, to hospitals. As tax-paying citizens of Bangladesh, we refuse to be fed toxic food in silence. There was a time…
Arab News: Rebels from Idlib have blown up two key bridges in a bid to hamper an expected government assault on Syria’s only remaining rebel-held province, a monitor said on Friday. The bridges over the Orontes River linked areas of neighboring Hama province under government control to rebel-held territory in Idlib, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory…
BSS: Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq BSS said BNP always went to state power though palace conspiracy. “Awami League always comes to power by the ballots of countrymen, but BNP always grabs power through palace conspiracy. We only depend on the votes of people, not on any conspiracy,” he said. The minister…