The recently launched new “international development strategy” will deepen economic, security and development ties globally, while delivering jobs and growth in both the UK and partner countries, says the UK government. . Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has set out her vision for the future of UK international development which will help address increasing global challenges. Also read:Meta partners with BRAC to empower Bangladeshi women, youth online The British Foreign Secretary published the “International Development Strategy” to respond to a world increasingly affected by geopolitics, according to the British High Commission in Dhaka. The UK will use aid and investment to create global economic growth and challenge dependency on malign actors to offer honest alternative for low- and middle-income countries. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) will prioritise bilateral programmes to ensure money is spent on key priorities including educating girls and providing life-saving humanitarian support The strategy, which builds on a proud record of global leadership on development, will challenge dependency on malign actors, offering choice and bringing more countries into the orbit of free-market economies. The strategy will help address increasing global challenges, delivering investment, supporting women and girls, getting humanitarian assistance to those who need it most, and continuing our work on climate change, nature and global health. Development will be at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy which uses all the levers available – including development, diplomacy, investment, trade, defence and intelligence – to deliver on our foreign policy objectives. The strategy will use British International Investment and other tools to provide honest and reliable finance to help low- and middle-income countries take control of their futures, giving them an alternative so they are not burdened with unsustainable debt with strings attached. This approach will help deliver the Clean Green Initiative, supporting countries to grow their economies sustainably. The UK government will also use the strategy to rebalance the aid budget towards bilateral programmes. This will give the Government greater control on how money is spent allowing a focus on priorities and improve lives around the world. Also read:Palestine Embassy in Dhaka opens condolence book for slain journalist Shireen “In an increasingly geopolitical world, we must use development as a key part of our foreign policy,” said British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. The new strategy, launched today, will ensure that their international development work brings benefit across the globe and here at home. Our strategy will deepen economic, security and development ties globally, while delivering jobs and growth in both the UK and partner countries.

A British judge on Wednesday formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. The case will now go to Britain’s interior minister for a decision, though the WikiLeaks founder still has legal avenues of appeal. The order, which brings and end to the years'-long extradition battle closer, comes after the U.K. Supreme Court last month refused Assange permission to appeal against a lower court’s ruling that he could be extradited. Also read:UK court allows Assange's extradition to US for spying case District Judge Paul Goldspring issued the order in a brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, as Assange watched by video link from Belmarsh Prison and his supporters rallied outside the courthouse, demanding he be freed. Home Secretary Priti Patel will now decide whether to grant the extradition. The move doesn't exhaust the legal options for Assange, who has sought for years to avoid a trial in the U.S. on charges related to WikiLeaks’ publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago. His lawyers have four weeks to make submissions to Patel, and can also seek to appeal to the High Court. Assange lawyer Mark Summers told the court that the legal team had “serious submissions” to make. The U.S. has asked British authorities to extradite Assange so he can stand trial on 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse. American prosecutors say Assange unlawfully helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk. Supporters and lawyers for Assange, 50, argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech for publishing documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. They argue that his case is politically motivated. A British district court judge had initially rejected a U.S. extradition request on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. U.S. authorities later provided assurances that the WikiLeaks founder wouldn’t face the severe treatment that his lawyers said would put his physical and mental health at risk. Also read: US set to appeal UK refusal to extradite WikiLeaks' Assange In December, the High Court overturned the lower court’s decision, saying that the U.S. promises were enough to guarantee that Assange would be treated humanely. The Supreme Court in March rejected Assange's attempt to challenge that ruling. Assange’s lawyers say he could face up to 175 years in jail if he is convicted in the U.S., though American authorities have said the sentence was likely to be much lower than that. Assange has been held at Britain’s high-security Belmarsh Prison in London since 2019, when he was arrested for skipping bail during a separate legal battle. Before that, he spent seven years inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed. Last month, Assange and his partner Stella Moris married in a prison ceremony.

The British government said Thursday it won’t introduce any new coronavirus restrictions until after Christmas, and called early studies on the severity of the omicron variant encouraging. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said two studies suggesting omicron carries a significantly lower risk of hospitalization than the previously dominant delta strain was “encouraging news.” But he said it was “not very clear yet...by how much that risk is reduced.” The U.K. Health Security Agency is due to publish new data on omicron later Thursday. It follows two studies, from Imperial College London and Scottish researchers, that found patients with omicron were between 20% and 68% less likely to require hospital treatment than those with delta. Read: UK health boss: COVID-19 rules could tighten by Christmas Data out of South Africa, where the variant was first detected, have also suggested omicron might be milder there. Scientists stress that even if the findings of these early studies hold up, any reductions in severity need to be weighed against the fact omicron spreads much faster than delta and is more able to evade vaccines. Given those factors, the new variant could still overwhelm health systems because of the sheer number of infections. Confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.K., where omicron is now dominant, have surged by almost 60% in a week. Britain’s Conservative government this month reinstated rules requiring face masks in shops and ordered people to show proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test before entering nightclubs and other crowded venues in an attempt to slow omicron’s spread. Officials also urged people to get tested regularly and cut back on socializing. Many in Britain have heeded that advice, leaving entertainment and hospitality businesses reeling at what should be their busiest time of the year. The government has offered grants and loans to support restaurants, bars, theaters and other venues, but many say it is not enough to stop them going under. Rules set by the U.K. government apply in England. Other parts of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — have set slightly tighter restrictions, including the closure of nightclubs. Read: UK Brexit minister quits as new COVID rules spark anger Javid said the British government would “keep analyzing (the) data, and if we need to do anything more, we will, but nothing more is going to happen before Christmas.” “Despite the caution that we are all taking, people should enjoy their Christmases with their families and their friends — of course, remain cautious,” he said. The government is hoping vaccine boosters will provide a bulwark against omicron, as the data suggests, and has set a goal of offering everyone 18 and up a third shot by the end of December.

British Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Girls’ Education Helen Grant has laid emphasis on investing in girls’ education which she thinks an “absolute game changer” and ensures a safer, fairer and better world for the girls giving them greater say over their futures. “Investing in girls’ education is an absolute game changer,” she said, adding that girls’ education is a key priority for the UK government. Helen Grant, who was appointed in January 2021 as the British Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Girls’ Education, made the remarks before wrapping up her recent visit to Bangladesh. Read: British PM’s Special Envoy Helen Grant in city to meet girls While talking to a small group of reporters at the residence of British High Commissioner Robert Chatterton Dickson, Helen listed poverty, climate change; gender based violence, early pregnancy and forced marriage as some of the barriers that need to be addressed through joint efforts. As girls remain at greater risk of violence, sexual abuse, child marriage due to out of schools, she said investing in girls is very important.

The UK government has launched a new scheme that aims to drive trade with Bangladesh and other countries boosting jobs and growth. The new trading rules will help countries come out of poverty and help British businesses and consumers at the same time, said the UK government.  The UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) is a major opportunity to grow free and fair trade with developing nations. Read:Dhaka conveys protests to UK over human rights report Javed Patel, acting British High Commissioner in Dhaka, said the proposed DCTS scheme signals the UK’s appetite to promote global free, competitive and fair trade, "as well as demonstrating our commitment to Bangladesh, by enabling Bangladeshi businesses to access the UK market more easily". "Bilateral trade between the UK and Bangladesh stands at almost £4 billion and there is room for growth. I encourage businesses here in Bangladesh to contribute to this important consultation through their trade bodies," he said. The proposed scheme would apply to 70 qualifying countries currently and include improvements such as lower tariffs and simpler rules of origin requirements for countries exporting to the UK, allowing countries to diversify their exports and grow their economies. The UK currently operates a similar scheme rolled over from the EU, but as an independent trading nation can now take a simpler, more generous, pro-growth approach to trading with developing countries.  The proposed new UK scheme will mean more opportunity and less bureaucracy for developing countries, for example by simplifying rules of origin requirements or reducing tariffs on imports. For instance, this could mean lowering tariffs on products, including rice from Pakistan and trainers from Nigeria. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said trade fundamentally empowers people and has done more than any single policy in history to lift millions of people around the world out of poverty.  “Now the UK is an independent trading nation, we have a huge opportunity do things differently, taking a more liberal, pro-trade approach that leads to growth and opportunity. “Countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam have proven it’s possible to trade your way to better living standards, and our new Developing Countries Trading Scheme will help others do the same," Truss said. Read:Media freedom in Bangladesh under “pressure”, political freedom “restricted”: UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that cutting tariffs for poorer countries enables them to trade their way to genuine independence -- "and I’m proud we lead the world in offering that opportunity". Bangladesh and Vietnam have demonstrated that increasing trade through schemes like the UK’s DCTS helped them grow their economy, improve living standards, and drive down poverty, said the British High Commission in Dhaka on Tuesday.  Vietnam’s exports to the UK more than tripled between 2009 and 2019.  Over this period, the country achieved an average growth rate of more than 6%, while poverty rates plummeted from more than 20% in 2010 to an estimated 5.9% in 2020.  The UK's total imports from Bangladesh more than doubled between 2009 and 2019, during which time the country achieved an average growth rate of 6.6%. Extreme poverty rates more than halved from 1991 to 2016-17.  The UK government intends its new scheme to be the best in class, and has studied programmes in Canada, the US, Japan and the EU, before constructing an approach that takes some of the strongest elements of each and builds on them.  The consultation on the UK’s new scheme runs for eight weeks and seeks the view of all sectors of society, including businesses, the public, civil society groups, consumers, associations, partner governments and any other interested stakeholders.  Views will also be sought from businesses and stakeholders with an interest across the globe.  Read:Dhaka wants trilateral initiative from Moscow to resolve Rohingya crisis The UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme will apply to 47 countries in the Least Developed Country Framework (LDCF) and 23 additional countries classified by the World Bank as low-income and lower-middle-income countries.  Other low-income and lower-middle-income countries are not included in the scheme because they benefit from preferential terms offered by free trade agreements with the UK.  Bangladesh and Vietnam reported changes in poverty are based on the international poverty line of $1.90 and $3.20, respectively, per person, per day in 2011 Purchasing Power Parity dollars.

Millions of people must cancel their Christmas get-togethers and most shops have to close in London and much of southern England, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday as he imposed a new, stricter level of coronavirus restrictions on the region to curb rapidly spreading infections.

The United Kingdom has formally proposed the launchig of a Bangladesh-UK Trade and Investment Dialogue to deal with relevant issues and help boost ties between the two countries.

Fresh restrictions on social gatherings in England appear to be on the cards as the British government seeks to suppress a sharp spike in new coronavirus infections.

British lawmaker Rushanara Ali has said it is not right for the UK government to remove someone’s UK citizenship based on their parent’s country of origin.

The British government has said they have no plans to introduce repatriation flights from Dhaka but are monitoring the situation closely.