The United States said it is looking forward to deepening relationship and cooperation with Bangladesh on a number of key issues, “regardless of political party or candidates.” "Our hope for any election taking place around the world is that they are free and fair and accessible," Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the US Department of State, said during a press briefing on May 15 (US time) at the State Department while responding to a question. But beyond that, he said, he has nothing else to offer insight on when it comes to “political parties or candidates or anything like that.” Also Read: As per Vienna Convention, host country must ensure protection of all diplomatic personnel: US State Dept He said, last year the two countries celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations.   Earlier, US Deputy Assistant Secretary Afreen Akhter visited Bangladesh and attended the 6th Indian Ocean Conference on May 12-13. “It’s an honor to have the opportunity to learn more about Bangladesh’s struggle for freedom and democracy," she tweeted, mentioning that the Liberation War Museum movingly conveys what Bangladeshis experienced during that time.  Also Read: US doesn’t endorse one political party over another in Bangladesh: State Department.

In public, they present a united front — always. But Prince Harry has a very different story to tell about the British royals and the way they operate. Harry’s explosive memoir, with its damning allegations of a toxic relationship between the monarchy and the press, could accelerate the pace of change already under way within the House of Windsor following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Harry’s description of royals leaking unflattering information about other members of the family in exchange for positive coverage of themselves is but one of the more tawdry allegations in his book, “ Spare,” published this week. The prince singled out King Charles III’s wife, Camilla, accusing her of feeding private conversations to the media as she sought to rehabilitate her image after her longtime affair with Charles when he was heir to the throne. Read more: First day sales for Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir tops 1.4 million copies Far from the unity that is presented in public, the royal family and their staffs are depicted as scheming rivals, ready to stab each other in the back to make themselves or their bosses look better in the public eye. The palace that Harry describes resembles a modern version of the court of King Henry VIII, where courtiers jockeyed for the monarch’s favor and some lost their heads. The book leaves the impression of a deeply dysfunctional British royal family whose members are so concerned about the tabloid press that they are forced to make deals with journalists, says Ed Owens, author of “ The Family Firm: Monarchy, Mass Media and the British Public, 1932-53.” And the public, when faced with this proposition, may think twice. “I think there needs to be some kind of reset, and we need to think carefully about what the monarchy is, what role it plays in society,” says Owens, a historian. “Because this idea of `we, the British taxpayers, pay and in return they perform’ — it’s really a broken and corrupting kind of equation.” Largely funded by taxpayers, the monarchy plays a mostly ceremonial role in British society these days — masters of soft power. But supporters argue that the institution still serves a vital role, uniting the country behind shared history and traditions embodied in both the grandeur of royal ceremonies and the day-to-day work of royals as they open schools and hospitals and hand out honors to those who serve the nation. News coverage of the royal family generally falls into one of two categories: carefully orchestrated public appearances or sometimes chaotic stories about the private lives of royals based on unidentified sources. But change may be at hand. The history of colonialism — so deeply intertwined with the crown — is being re-examined around the world. Protesters have torn down or defaced statues in British cities, and internationally respected universities such as Oxford and Cambridge are changing their course offerings. It all adds up to one thing: An institution that was once the symbol of the British Empire is facing scrutiny as never before. Charles, who became king after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September, faces the challenge of modernizing Britain’s 1,000-year-old monarchy to guarantee its survival. He has already said he plans to reduce the number of working royals and reduce the cost of the monarchy. This has been a long time coming, perhaps, but was delayed by one key factor: Elizabeth herself. Personal affection for the queen meant that the monarchy’s role in British society was rarely debated during her seven decades on the throne. Now that she’s gone, the royal family is confronting questions about its relevance in a modern, multicultural nation that looks very different than when Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952. In Elizabeth’s world — governed by the mantra “never complain, never explain” — the sort of personal revelations in Harry’s book would have been unthinkable. He describes his mental health struggles following the 1997 car accident that killed his mother, Princess Diana, He recounts a physical altercation with his older brother, Prince William, reveals how he lost his virginity and describes using cocaine and cannabis. “Spare” is the latest effort by Harry and his wife, Meghan, to tell their own story after they quit royal life and moved to California in 2020, citing what they saw as the media’s racist treatment of Meghan and a lack of support from the palace. In the ghostwritten memoir, Harry, 38, alleges that Camilla forged connections with the British press and traded information on her way to becoming queen consort, essentially feeding unflattering stories on Harry and Meghan to the press in exchange for better coverage of herself. The allegations are particularly sensitive because of Camilla’s role in the acrimonious breakdown of Charles’ marriage to Diana. While many members of the public initially shunned Camilla, she has won fans by taking on a wide range of charitable activities and has been credited with helping Charles appear less stuffy and more in tune with modern Britain. Daily Mail columnist Stephen Glover leapt to her defense, arguing that Harry was just thin-skinned. “I daresay some members of the royal family have passed stories to the press through their courtiers over the years, but it is absurd and naïve to infer that this was part of an orchestrated attempt to destabilize Harry and Meghan,” he wrote. “Royals are not puppets of the press, since — if they have any sense — they realize they can be biffed as well as praised. The wise ones know how to take the rough with the smooth.’’ But unlike Elizabeth, who famously issued a statement suggesting that “some recollections may vary” when confronted with racism allegations after Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Buckingham Palace has responded to the first major crisis of Charles’ reign with silence.  

A relationship and subsequent breakup between a duo apparently played a role in the fire that broke out in a building in Indore’s Swarn Baag Colony in the wee hours of Saturday claiming seven lives, The Hindustan Times reported on Sunday from Bhopal quoting the Madhya Pradesh police Police said Shubham Dixit alias Sanjay, who allegedly set on fire the building in Indore, wanted to get back at a woman living in the building who was reportedly in a relationship with him but broke up with him and decided to marry someone else. The 28-year-old man was arrested late at night on Saturday from Lohamandi. He tried to flee and injured his leg and a hand, according to The Hindustan Times. Also read: 7 die in India building fire Police admitted him to the hospital and later arrested him, said Tehzeeb Qazi, police station in-charge, Vijay Nagar. He was scheduled to be produced before the court on Sunday. According to the police officer, Dixit, a resident of Jhansi, was sore about a woman, who used to reside with her mother in the Swarnbagh Colony building, deciding to marry someone else. He told the police that they were in a relationship and even lent her 10,000. But she recently got engaged to someone else. “Late on Friday night, he called the woman for the money. The conversation (near the building) soon turned into a bitter argument. He threatened her. Later, he came to the parking area of the building, took out petrol from a bike, poured it on the woman’s scooty and set it afire,” said Qazi. Police checked footage of at least 100 CCTV cameras during the investigation. In at least one of the video clips, police saw the man entering the building and later coming out of the building after setting the two-wheeler on fire. The man also tried to tamper with the CCTV camera and also the electricity meter. The man was seen at the crime scene a few minutes later to check the result. But by then, the fire had spread to the building, the police officer said. Also read: 7 of family killed in India road accident The woman and her mother safely came out of the building by using a rope on Saturday. Police said they will register statement of the woman who did not disclose her argument with the man earlier. “The fire broke out in the wee hours of Saturday in a building in Swarn Baag Colony. Some were burnt alive and some suffocated as it was a congested building,” Indore police commissioner HN Mishra said. The deceased include Ishwar Singh Sisodia (45), Neetu Sisodia (45), Ashish (30), Gaurav (38) and Akanksha (25). Among the dead, two people aged between 40 and 45 have not been identified yet.

Bangladesh and India on Tuesday emphasized expediting efforts to resolve pending issues as the two countries look forward to a “very high-level relationship” finding new areas of cooperation. Visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla met Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after holding a detailed discussion with his Bangladesh counterpart Masud Bin Momen at Foreign Service Academy. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Dr Momen said the two countries agreed to work for the welfare of the people in the two countries. Read: Dhaka, Delhi created model relations, says FM terming Dec 6 a historic day He said the Indian side talked about the border issue and assured Bangladesh of keeping more careful watch to avert any problem along the Bangladesh-India border.   The Foreign Minister recalled the respect shown by the Indian side to Bangladesh throughout this historic year.

China has said Bangladesh and China are friendly close neighbours and they always treat each other with mutual respect and firmly support one another on issues bearing on respective core interests and major concerns. Hua Chunying, Spokesperson at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a regular briefing in Beijing said in South Asia it is definitely not China that is interfering in other countries' domestic affairs. "I can tell you clearly that China and Bangladesh are very friendly close neighbours. We’ve grown our ties on the basis of the five principles of peaceful coexistence," she said. Also read: China gives Bangladesh 500K vaccine doses The Spokesperson said this when Chinese Foreign Ministry's comments were sought on Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming's remarks in Dhaka.  Hua said they all know what kind of mechanism the Quad (US, Japan, India and Australia) is. She said China opposes "certain countries' efforts to form an exclusive clique, portray China as a challenge, and sow discord” between regional countries and China. Responding to a question on whether China is aggressively trying to push its foreign policy, Hua Chunying said she is not sure if the questioner's information on the statement from the Bangladesh foreign minister was an accurate quote or if further clarification is needed.  "But one thing is clear. China always treats other countries as equals, especially small and medium ones," she said. The Spokesperson reiterated that China and Bangladesh have very friendly relations. "We develop ties based on the five principles of peaceful coexistence, always respect and trust each other and offer each other firm support on matters concerning core interests and major concerns." She said China was, is and will remain committed to its principle not to interfere in other countries' domestic affairs.  "As to the Quad, I think India knows better than us the intention of this mechanism. Isn't it intended as a small clique against China? Remarks expressing opposition to this mechanism are not about interference but about rejecting small cliques and bloc politics," said the Spokesperson.  She said they also reflect the aspiration for maintaining regional peace and stability. Also read: Bangladesh thanks China; seeks larger amount of vaccine doses Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming on Wednesday met Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and explained his remarks made during a programme hosted by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB). The meeting was held after a vaccine handing over ceremony at the state guesthouse Padma. They discussed different bilateral issues, including Covid cooperation between the two countries, a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told UNB. They highlighted the importance of the growing relationship between the two countries. On Monday, the Ambassador talked about a number of issues, including vaccine cooperation.  The envoy, while responding to a question, also talked about Quad, an initiative of four countries- the United States, Japan, India and Australia, that was followed by a reaction by Dhaka.  Ambassador Li said obviously it will not be a good idea for Bangladesh to participate in this small club of four countries because it will "substantially damage" the bilateral relationship between the two countries. “So, we don’t like to see any form of participation by Bangladesh to this small group of countries,” said the envoy.