Newly appointed ambassadors and high commissioners of seven countries to Bangladesh presented their credentials  to President Mohammed Shahabuddin at Bangabhaban on Wednesday. The new non-resident envoys are- High Commissioner of Botswana Gilbert Shimane Magole, Ambassador of Cambodia Koy Kuong, Ambassador of the Czech Republic Dr. Eliska Zigova, High Commissioner of Gambia Mustapha Jawara, Ambassador of Hungary Istvan Szabo, High Commissioner of Jamaica Jason K. Hall and Peggy Frantzen, ambassador of Luxembourg. President taking three-day retreat in Pabna President's press secretary Joynal Abedin briefed the reporter after the meeting. The president said Bangladesh attaches importance to developing bilateral ties with all countries of the world. Mentioning that massive development has been achieved in various sectors in the last one and a half decades, he said the current trade and investment situation of Bangladesh is very promising. President invites Sheikh Hasina to form her cabinet The president hoped that the new ambassadors would work with Bangladesh to explore the development potentials of their respective countries and increase mutual cooperation, including trade and investment. During the meeting, the envoys sought the President's full cooperation in fulfilling their assignments. The envoys also expressed their determination to work for enhancing the relations of their respective countries with Bangladesh. Take stern action against graft, reform financial sector: President tells newly elected MPs Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and secretaries concerned to the president were present on the occasion. Earlier, on their arrival at Bangabhaban, in the morning, they were accorded a 'guard of honour' by a horse-mounted team of the Presidential Guard Regiment (PGR).

At the 28th Council of the International Seabed Authority being held in Kingston, Jamaica, negotiations resumed on Environmental Impact Assessment. Bangladesh delegate Rear Admiral (retd) Md. Khurshed Alam, Secretary (Maritime Affairs Unit) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tookpart in the deliberations and significantly contributed to the negotiations. Khurshed Alam elected chair of Finance Committee of the International Seabed Authority  The meeting of the Council is taking place from July 10-21, 2023 and the ISA Assembly will meet from July 24-28, 2023. International Seabed Authority lauds Bangladesh's 'invaluable' contributions   Delegates deliberated on the meaning of ‘cumulative effects’ within the context of synergetic effects and expressed a preference for differentiating between ‘impacts’ and ‘effects’. Deliberations also took place on the reference to ‘coastal states’, difference between ‘environmental impact statements’ (EIS) and ‘environmental impact assessments’ (EIA), text of the Regulations on Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report, identification of potential cumulative effects and extension of public consultation activities. Most delegates observed that all EIS should be publicly available, suggesting creating an actual public repository of these documents separate from the official ISA webpage. Discussions also took place on whether the test mining should be done, the sequence of test mining and its timing. Most delegations noted their preference that this be done during the exploration phase and would like to see defined scales of testing program and the assessments that need to take place. However, some delegates asked for a new definition of ‘test mining’ and reminded that the work should be coordinated with the submarine cables. The session of the Informal working group on the protection and preservation of the marine environment asked all eight intersessional working groups established in March 2023 to resume the intersessional work and report in November. At the discussions on the informal working group on inspection, compliance and enforcement, a report was summarized on the work it facilitated intersessionally to formulate a model for an inspection mechanism. The report proposes a hybrid model that takes different approaches into consideration, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday. In particular, it proposes the establishment of a Compliance Committee within the LTC (the LTCCC) which would be responsible for overall compliance and enforcement issues. While deliberations took place on whether the LTCCC should be autonomous or created within the LTC, caution was also expressed against creating new bodies not supported under UNCLOS. Regarding Regulation on Inspections, emphasis was given on streamlining the text and amending those to ensure consistency with the terms used in the UNCLOS.  

Lawyers for Usain Bolt, one of the world’s greatest sprinters, said Wednesday that more than $12.7 million is missing from his account with a private investment firm in Jamaica that authorities are investigating. Attorney Linton P. Gordon provided The Associated Press with a copy of a letter sent to Stocks & Securities Limited demanding that the money be returned. Gordon said Bolt’s account once had $12.8 million but now reflects a balance of only $12,000. “If this is correct, and we are hoping it is not, then a serious act of fraud larceny or a combination of both have been committed against our client,” Bolt’s attorneys say in the letter. They threaten civil and criminal action if the money is not returned within 10 days. Stocks & Securities Limited did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On its website, the company asked that clients direct all urgent queries to Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission, which is investigating the firm. “We understand that clients are anxious to receive more information and assure you that we are closely monitoring the matter throughout all the required steps and will alert our clients of the resolution as soon as that information is available,” the company said. The company has said that it discovered the fraud earlier this month and that several of its clients may be missing millions of dollars. Read more: Elizabeth Holmes takes the stand in her criminal fraud trial Jamaica’s finance minister, Nigel Clarke, called the situation alarming but noted it was unusual. “It is tempting to doubt our financial institutions, but I would ask that we don’t paint an entire hard working industry with the brush of a few very dishonest individuals,” he said. Bolt’s lawyers sent the letter Monday, the same day that Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission announced it was appointing a special auditor to look into fraud allegations at Stocks & Securities Limited, which is based in the capital of Kingston. On Tuesday, financial authorities said they were assuming temporary management of the private investment firm. It is allowed to keep operating but needs approval from the government for any transactions. Bolt, who retired in 2017, holds the world records for the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 meters.

Protesters in Jamaica raised their fists Tuesday as they donned T-shirts emblazoned with a pair of shackled Black wrists surrounded by the phrases “Seh Yuh Sorry!” and “Apologize now!” as they demonstrated just hours before Prince William and Kate arrived. The protest in front of the British High Commission in Kingston comes a couple of days after dozens of prominent leaders in Jamaica publicized a letter demanding that Britain apologize and award its former colony slavery reparations. They also decried the weeklong Central American and Caribbean tour that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge embarked on Saturday, which coincides with Jamaica’s 60th independence anniversary and the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. “Kings, Queens and Princesses and Princes belong in fairytales, NOT in Jamaica!” read one poster held aloft by a young girl who joined the protest. The royal couple's trip, which began with a stop in Belize followed by scheduled visits to Jamaica and the Bahamas, was organized at the queen’s behest as some countries debate cutting ties to the monarchy like Barbados did in November. Read: Ukraine says Russia seized relief workers in Mariupol convoy Mike Henry, a veteran Jamaican lawmaker, said in a phone interview that while the topic has been discussed, he worries that demands for an apology and reparations would be rendered moot if the island stopped pledging allegiance to the queen. Maziki Thame, a senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies, noted that Jamaicans have been seeking reparations for decades. “This is not a new cause,” she said in a phone interview as she prepared to join the protest. “The question is whether it will get any traction...whether the British are ready to contend with their history.” The British empire controlled Jamaica for more than 300 years and forced hundreds of thousands of African slaves to toil the island under brutal conditions. Sugar replaced tobacco and cocoa as the main crop, with some 430 sugar estates reported by the mid-1700s, up from 57 nearly a century prior, according to Jamaica Information Services, a government agency. The group protesting the royal visit noted in its letter that the British raped and killed thousands of slaves as it sought an apology for 60 reasons, including “for refusing to acknowledge the historic trade in Africans as a crime against humanity,” and for “pretending that the British led the abolition movement, when our ancestors worked, prayed and fought hard for this.” Tames, the university professor, said she and many other Jamaicans are not celebrating what is known as the queen’s Platinum Jubilee. “That doesn’t speak to us in the way they might imagine that speaks to us,” she said. “In the 20th century, Jamaicans have moved beyond celebrating the crown.” Prince William and Kate are scheduled to spend two days in Jamaica, where they’re expected to meet with government officials and tour Trench Town, the gritty birthplace of rocksteady and reggae where Bob Marley grew up. Ahead of their trip, Jamaican singer Beenie Man told TV show Good Morning Britain that the U.K. still controls the commonwealth of Jamaica: “It’s all about the Queen, and the Queen serve and the Queen this and that – but what are they doing for Jamaica? They’re not doing anything for us." The monarchy has said that Britain and Jamaica have a strong trade relationship, with the island exporting goods including rum and raw cane sugar to the U.K. It also noted the creation of programs targeting poverty, security, natural disaster management, social issues and the economy. Read: 10 'burnt alive' in India's Bengal An estimated 55,000 British citizens live in Jamaica, while some 800,000 people of Jamaican descent live in the United Kingdom. The relationship between the two countries soured in recent years after some Caribbean people who had long lived in Britain legally were denied jobs, housing or medical care, with some deported because they didn't have the required paperwork. Britain has since apologized and pledged compensation.