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Iran International moves shows to Washington, citing threats
A Farsi-language satellite news channel based in London long critical of Iran’s theocractic government said Saturday it had moved its broadcasts to Washington “to protect the safety of its journalists” after reportedly being targeted by Tehran.
The alleged targeting of Iran International comes as Tehran also has long harassed members of the BBC’s Persian service for their work reporting on the country. However, the threats against Farsi-language networks broadcasting abroad have exponentially grown as they cover the nationwide protests that have rocked Iran since September — providing information otherwise unheard across the Islamic Republic’s state-controlled television and radio networks.
Iran International described making the decision after London’s Metropolitan Police told it “about the existence of serious and immediate threats to the safety of Iranian journalists” working there.
Reached for comment, Iran International referred to a statement saying that “threats had grown to the point that it was felt it was no longer possible to protect the channel’s staff” or the public around its studio in London.
“A foreign state has caused such a significant threat to the British public on British soil that we have to move. Let’s be clear this is not just a threat to our TV station but the British public at large,” the channel’s general manager Mahmood Enayat said. “Even more this is an assault on the values of sovereignty, security and free speech that the U.K. has always held dear.”
Enayat added: “We refuse to be silenced by these cowardly threats. We will continue to broadcast. We are undeterred.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran International tied its decision to London police days earlier announcing the arrest and charging of Austrian national Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, 30, with allegedly “collecting information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.”
Police say they arrested Dovtaev a week ago at London’s Chiswick Business Park, home to the offices of Volant Media UK Ltd., the owner of Iran International. However, police did not directly tie Dovtaev to a threat against the channel. Police reportedly placed armed officers around the channel in November over threats against it.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Dovtaev had a lawyer.
Voltant Media, once majority-owned by a Saudi national, also broadcasts another channel called Afghanistan International.
Iran International has focused intensely on the nationwide protests that have swept Iran since the September death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian-Kurdish woman earlier detained by the country’s morality police. Iran’s Intelligence Ministry describes the channel as a “terrorist organization.”
“Its operatives and affiliates will be pursued by the Ministry of Intelligence,” Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib said in November. “And from now on, any kind of connection with this terrorist organization will be considered to be tantamount to entering into terrorism and a threat to the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
That same month, the broadcaster said the Metropolitan Police warned that two of its British-Iranian journalists faced threats from Iran that “represent an imminent, credible and significant risk to their lives and those of their families.” Meanwhile, another outspoken critic of Iran’s government living in the U.S. has faced multiple alleged plots by Tehran targeting her.
The BBC in February filed a separate complaint to the United Nations saying there were “increased security concerns for BBC News Persian journalists in the light of extraterritorial threats.”
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Associated Press writer Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.
Sanctions were misguided, Washington now more receptive: Shahriar Alam
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam on Tuesday reiterated the standard line of the government that the United States sanctioned elite force RAB and individuals associated with it on the basis of wrong information.
The State Minister was participating in the discussion on the thanksgiving motion on the President's speech in Parliament.
Alam said that the date of December 10, 2022 was specifically chosen by the BNP for the culmination of its program of divisional rallies to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of America sanctioning RAB, which he called 'one of the most successful law and order forces of Bangladesh'.
“BNP thought they could get another round of sanctions," Alam asserted, before saying effective and diligent diplomacy together with regular high-level communications had prevented the outcome BNP were hoping for.
“At least 15 to 20 important high-level meetings have been held in the last one year,” he informed the House. All in all, he said apart from the US administration, the governments of its like-minded countries too had been brought around to the government's view through constructive engagements over the last one year.
Read more: We remain better prepared in 2023: Shahriar Alam
Before moving on, Alam vented his regret at how the pandemic-induced travel ban prevented him from visiting the United States in the run-up to December 2021 - the suggestion being he could have prevented the sanctions from being imposed.
Turning to domestic matters, Alam said that Awami League is close to the people, and knows itself.
“Awami League knows its strengths and limitations,” he said.
Read more: We don't expect US to impose more sanctions: Shahriar
IMF approves $4.7 billion loan for Bangladesh
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a loan of $4.7 billion for Bangladesh, the global lender has said in a statement.
The loan request was approved at the IMF Executive Board meeting in Washington, USA on Monday night.
Bangladesh has welcomed the IMF’s move.
According to the IMF, Bangladesh will get this loan in seven instalments over the next 42 months. The average interest on the loan will be 2.2 percent.
Of the total amount, $3.3 billion will be available from the IMF’s ‘Enhanced Credit Support’ while $1.4 billion will come under the ‘Resilience and Sensibility Facility’.
The IMF said in the statement that the loan will help stabilise Bangladesh's macroeconomy, implement necessary reforms to build capacity for social and development spending, strengthen the financial sector, modernise policy frameworks and address climate change.
The lending agency said that Bangladesh’s robust economic recovery from the pandemic has been interrupted by Russia’s war in Ukraine, leading to a sharp widening of Bangladesh’s current account deficit, depreciation of the Taka and a decline in foreign exchange reserves.
It further said that the authorities have taken on a comprehensive set of measures to deal with these latest economic disruptions.
Read more: IMF now expects world economy to grow 2.9% in 2023
The authorities recognise that in addition to tackling these immediate challenges, long-standing structural issues and vulnerabilities related to climate change will also need to be addressed to accelerate growth, attract private investment, enhance productivity, and build climate resilience, the IMF statement clarified.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in a statement thanked the IMF for the loan approval.
In a statement, the finance minister said, "Many had doubts that the IMF might not give us this loan."
"They thought that the fundamental areas of our macroeconomy were weak, so the IMF would refrain from lending, but (it) took the right decision evaluating Bangladesh’s economy,” he said.
This loan approval also proves that the fundamental areas of Bangladesh macroeconomy are standing in a strong position, which is better than many other countries, Kamal said.
PM travels to Washington from NY
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reached Washington DC, wrapping up her official visit to New York where she attended the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Hasina and her entourage members reached Washington DC from New York by road on Saturday evening, PM's Deputy Press Secretary KM Shakhawat Moon told UNB.
Read: PM: Returning from UNGA with friendship for Bangladesh
The prime minister reached New York on September 19 after an official visit to the United Kingdom where she attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and a reception hosted by King Charles ll.
During her stay in New York, Sheikh Hasina addressed the general debate of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 23. She also took part in several events on the sidelines of the UNGA.
PM Hasina is scheduled to return home on October 4.
Bangladesh mission in Washington observes birth anniversary of Bangamata
The Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington DC has observed the 92nd birth anniversary of Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatun Nesa Mujib, wife of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, recalling Bangamata's great sacrifice and dedication to her family, society and the nation.
The Embassy organised different programmes at the Bangabandhu Auditorium on the occasion on Monday.
Messages from the President and the Prime Minister on the occasion were read out by Defence Attaché Brigadier General Md Shahedul Islam and Minister (Political) Dewan Ali Ashraf.
Later, a discussion session was held, which was presided over by M Shahidul Islam, Ambassdor of Bangladesh to the United States, and participated by Senior Secretary of the Defence Ministry of Bangladesh Golam Md Hashibul Alam as the guest of honor.
Read:Cultural organisations observe Bangamata’s 92nd birth anniversary
Defence Secretary Hashibul Alam paid tributes to Bangamata and remembered Bangamata’s role as the life partner of the Father of the Nation, as well as her contribution to the liberation struggle of Bangladesh.
Ambassador Islam highlighted Bangamata's tremendous sacrifice and dedication to her family, society and nation as well as her influence in the life of Bangabandhu, and her behind-the-scene but pivotal role in determining the course of the history of Bangladesh.
Eminent journalist and newscaster Roquia Haidar, Deputy Chief of Mission Ferdousi Shahriar and Counsellor Arifa Rahman Ruma also spoke on the occasion.
Counsellor and Head of Chancery Md Mahmudul Islam conducted the programmes.
After the discussion, a documentary on the life and works of Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatun Nesa Mujib was screened.
A special prayer was offered, seeking eternal peace for departed souls of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangamata Fazilatun Nesa Mujib, their family members, and others martyred on the fateful night of 15 August 1975.
Earlier, the Defence Secretary and the Ambassador placed a floral wreath at the portrait of Bangamata Fazilatun Nesa Mujib to pay their homage. Senior officers of the Embassy were present on the occasion.
Dhaka seeks Washington’s support in Rohingya case with ICJ
Bangladesh has urged the United States to extend their support regarding the Rohingya case with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague brought by The Gambia under the genocide convention.
Bangladesh also thanked the US side as it has decided to extend their support to the Rohingyas now living in Bhasan Char.
“We thank them (US side) as they will extend their support to the Bhasan Char,” Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen told reporters at the Foreign Service Academy while briefing about his discussion with US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Michele J. Sison on Monday.
He said Bangladesh also thanked the US side recalling that they (US) in March determined members of the Myanmar military committed “genocide and crimes against humanity” against Rohingya following a rigorous factual and legal analysis.
“The issue of third country resettlement also came up in the discussion,” said the foreign secretary.
He said Bangladesh reiterated that repatriation of the Rohingyas to their place of origin in Rakhine State in a safe and dignified manner would be the key solution.
Read: Bangladesh receives more doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from US
Foreign secretary Masud said Bangladesh does not subscribe to any idea of long-term hosting of the Rohingyas in Bangladesh and urged the international community to focus on their immediate safe return to Myanmar.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has welcomed the ruling by the ICJ in The Hague on July 22, rejecting Myanmar’s preliminary objections to the case brought by The Gambia under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention).
Responding to a question on elite force Rab, the foreign secretary said Bangladesh keeps working for withdrawal of sanctions on Rab following their legal process.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed and other officials are scheduled to attend the third United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit at the UN headquarters in New York on August 31-September 1.
Asked whether he will face any visa related problem due to US sanctions, the foreign secretary said they are yet to communicate and will try to know beforehand, noting that there are some exceptions.
Read: ASEAN Dhaka Committee celebrates 55th ASEAN Day
He said they are discussing the loopholes and any inconsistency in the Digital Security Act (DSA) for its further improvement in terms of application so that no one faces any problem.
Masud said they discussed multilateral issues to strengthen cooperation in a number of areas including food security, health and human rights issues and discussed events during the high-level week of the UNGA.
He said the US side was very amazed to see vaccination of such a large number of people in Bangladesh and the US side is keen to do an event on Covid front.
Sison said the US is committed to strengthening cooperation for the full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh.
She said discussion on cooperation and coordination with UN agencies in Bangladesh is critical to this effort.
Sison arrived here on Saturday evening as part of her tri-nation visit (India, Bangladesh and Kuwait) for consultations on a range of US multilateral priorities, including combating food insecurity, advancing global health, addressing human rights and humanitarian needs, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and support for Rohingya refugees.
Her meetings with senior government officials focused on opportunities to deepen their cooperation at the United Nations, and US support for the candidacy of Doreen Bogdan-Martin to become the next Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union.
The US Assistant Secretary exchanged ideas on how the United States and other countries can collaborate on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
She has already visited India and will go to Kuwait from Dhaka as part of her tri-nation visit that will end on August 10.
Dhaka, Washington to follow up issues discussed over past few months
Bangladesh and the United States will “further follow up” the discussions that the two countries had over the last few months as US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Michele J. Sison will visit Dhaka soon.
Dhaka’s demand for withdrawal of sanctions on elite force Rab and the Rohingya issue are also expected to be discussed during the visit.
“We have multi-faceted relationship with the United States,” said foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen on Wednesday, adding that many issues can be discussed.
He said they are known to each other and will be able to have “free and frank” discussion on many issues.
The US assistant secretary is currently visiting India as part of her tri-nation visit (India, Bangladesh and Kuwait) from August 2-10.
Trump returning to Washington to deliver policy speech
Former President Donald Trump will return to Washington on Tuesday for the first time since leaving office, delivering a policy speech before an allied think tank that has been crafting an agenda for a possible second term.
Trump will address the America First Policy Institute’s two-day America First Agenda Summit as some advisers urge him to spend more time talking about his vision for the future and less time relitigating the 2020 election as he prepares to announce an expected 2024 White House campaign.
“I believe it will be a very policy-focused, forward-leaning speech, very much like a State of the Union 5.0,” said Brooke Rollins, AFPI’s president. Composed of former Trump administration officials and allies, the nonprofit is widely seen as an “administration in waiting” that could quickly move to the West Wing if Trump were to run again and win.
Trump’s appearance in Washington — his first trip back since Jan. 20, 2021, when President Joe Biden was sworn into office — comes as his potential 2024 rivals have been taking increasingly overt steps to challenge his status as the party’s standard-bearer. They include former Vice President Mike Pence, who has been touting his own “Freedom Agenda” in speeches that serve as an implicit contrast with Trump.
Read: Jan. 6 panel deepens probe to Trump Cabinet, awaits Thomas
“Some people may choose to focus on the past, but I believe conservatives must focus on the future. If we do, we won’t just win the next election, we will change the course of American history for generations,” Pence had planned to say in a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington on the eve of Trump’s visit. Pence’s appearance was postponed because of bad weather, but he will be delivering his own speech Tuesday morning before the Young America’s Foundation not far from the AFPI meeting.
Trump has spent much of his time since leaving office fixated on the 2020 election and spreading lies about his loss to sow doubt about Biden’s victory. Indeed, even as the Jan. 6 committee was laying bare his desperate and potentially illegal attempts to remain in power and his refusal to call off a violent mob of his supporters as they tried to halt the peaceful transition of power, Trump continued to try to pressure officials to overturn Biden’s win, despite there being no legal means to decertify the past election.
On Tuesday, he plans to focus on public safety.
“President Trump sees a nation in decline that is driven, in part, by rising crime and communities becoming less safe under Democrat policies,” said his spokesman, Taylor Budowich. “His remarks will highlight the policy failures of Democrats, while laying out an America First vision for public safety that will surely be a defining issue during the midterms and beyond.”
Beyond the summit, staff at the America First Policy Institute have been laying their own groundwork for the future, “making sure we do have the policies, personnel and process nailed down for every key agency when we do take the White House back,” Rollins said.
The nonprofit developed, she said, from efforts to avoid the chaotic early days of Trump’s first term, when he arrived at the White House unprepared, with no clear plans ready to put in place. As Trump was running for reelection, Rollins, then the head of Trump’s Domestic Policy Council, began to sketch out a second-term agenda with fellow administration officials, including top economic policy adviser Larry Kudlow and national security adviser Robert O’Brien.
When it became clear Trump would be leaving the White House, she said, AFPI was created to continue that work ”organized around that second term agenda that we never released.”
The organization, once dismissed as a landing zone for ex-Trump administration officials shut out of more lucrative jobs, has grown into a behemoth, with an operating budget of around $25 million and 150 staff, including 17 former senior White Houses officials and nine former Cabinet members.
Read: Ivana Trump, first wife of former president, dies at 73
The group also has more than 20 policy centers and has tried to extend its reach beyond Washington with efforts to influence local legislatures and school boards. An “American leadership initiative,” led by the former head of the Office of Personnel Management, Michael Rigas, launched several weeks ago to identify future staff loyal to Trump and his “America First” approach who could be hired as part of a larger effort to replace large swaths of the civil service, as Axios recently reported.
The group is one of several Trump-allied organizations that have continued to push his polices in his absence, including America First Legal, dedicated to fighting Biden’s agenda through the court system, the Center for Renewing America and the Conservative Partnership Institute.
The summit is intended to highlight AFPI’s “America First Agenda,” centered around 10 key policy areas including the economy, health care and election security. It includes many of Trump’s signature issues, like continuing to build a wall along the southern border and a plan to “dismantle the administrative state.”
In a speech Monday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose “Contract with America” has been credited with helping Republicans sweep the 1994 midterm elections, praised the effort as key to future GOP victory.
“The American people want solutions,” he said.
Dhaka, Washington to discuss trade, investment, labour rights Thursday
Bangladesh and the United States will hold a high-level economic consultation in Washington Thursday with a special focus on trade, investment and labour rights issues.
The new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) is also likely to be discussed there.
The US said its new economic grouping for the Indo-Pacific will begin with 13 inaugural members, accounting for about 40 percent of the world's gross domestic product.
The 13 initial members of the group are the US, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, New Zealand and Brunei.
Prime Minister's Adviser for Private Industry and Investment Salman F Rahman will lead the Bangladesh delegation at the dialogue.
It is composed of officials from the ministries of finance, commerce, foreign affairs, and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).
The US is now the single largest export destination for Bangladeshi products, mainly readymade garments, which is worth $8 billion a year.
The US suspended the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facility for Bangladesh following the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013.
"We are concerned about insufficient labour rights and poor working conditions in Bangladesh. These concerns, unfortunately, cost Bangladesh access to the US Generalized System of Preferences trade benefit, or GSP, in 2013," said US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas Tuesday.
They are also causing Bangladesh to miss out on the US Development Finance Corporation, a massive source of investment capital from the US, he added.
Washington in touch with Dhaka on newly launched IPEF: US embassy spokesperson
The United States has said they look forward to continuing to exchange views with Bangladesh on the newly launched Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
“Bangladesh is an important regional partner of the United States," acting US Embassy spokesperson Bryan Schiller told media on Monday.
Schiller said they have been in contact with Bangladesh about the IPEF since the Partnership Dialogue in March and at regular intervals in Dhaka and Washington.
Read: Dhaka seeks increased Swiss investment
The US seeks to address the 21st century economic challenges, including the digital economy, clean energy transition, and supply chain resiliency.
US President Joe Biden on Monday launched a new trade deal with 12 Indo-Pacific nations aimed at strengthening their economies as he warned Americans worried about high inflation that it was “going to be a haul” before they feel relief, reports AP.
The president said he does not believe an economic recession is inevitable in the U.S.
Biden, speaking at a news conference after holding talks with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, acknowledged the U.S. economy has “problems” but said they were "less consequential than the rest of the world has.”
The comments came just before Biden's launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a new trade deal his administration designed to signal U.S. dedication to the contested economic sphere and to address the need for stability in commerce after disruptions caused by the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Read:Denmark, Norway, Sweden celebrate 'NordicWeek,' 50 years of ties with Bangladesh
Nations joining the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework are Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Along with the United States, they represent 40% of world GDP.
The countries said in a joint statement that the pact will help them collectively “prepare our economies for the future” following disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.