A consular team of Romania is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on March 5 as the country is likely to issue visas to more than 15,000 Bangladesh citizens from March to September this year. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) spokesperson Seheli Sabrin confirmed this during a weekly briefing on Thursday. Required steps have already been taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help conduct the Romanian consular mission in Dhaka, she said. Read more: India can be a mediator in resolving the Ukraine war: Momen tells Indian media Last year a consular team from Romania stayed in Dhaka for three months and issued around 5,400 visas. As the mission was run successfully, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen sent a letter to his Romanian counterpart requesting him to operate another consular mission. After that, Romania showed interest in running a consular mission in Dhaka for six months from March to September to facilitate the issuance of visas to Bangladeshis. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is making all the arrangements for the operation of the consular mission of Romania in Dhaka.  

China on Sunday launched a new three-person mission to complete assembly work on its permanent orbiting space station. The Shenzhou 14 crew will spend six months on the Tiangong station, during which they will oversee the addition of two laboratory modules to join the main Tianhe living space that was launched in April 2021. Their spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert at 10:44 a.m. (0244 GMT) atop the crewed space flight program’s workhorse Long March 2F rocket. Fifteen minutes later, it reached low Earth orbit and opened its solar panels, drawing applause from ground controllers in Jiuquan and Beijing. The launch was broadcast live on state television, indicating a rising level of confidence in the capabilities of the space program, which has been promoted as a sign of China's technological progress and global influence. Commander Chen Dong and fellow astronauts Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe will assemble the three-module structure joining the existing Tianhe with Wentian and Mengtian, due to arrive in July and October. Another cargo craft, the Tianzhou-3, remains docked with the station. READ: Boeing capsule lands back on Earth after space shakedown The arrival of the new modules will “provide more stability, more powerful functions, more complete equipment,” said Chen, 43, who was a member of the Shenzhou 11 mission in 2016, at a press conference Saturday. Liu, 43, is also a space veteran and was China’s first female astronaut to reach space aboard the Shenzhou 9 mission in 2012. Cai, 46, is making his first space trip. China’s space program launched its first astronaut into orbit in 2003, making it only the third country to do so on its own after the former Soviet Union and the U.S. It has landed robot rovers on the moon and placed one on Mars last year. China has also returned lunar samples and officials have discussed a possible crewed mission to the moon. China’s space program is run by the ruling Communist Party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army, prompting the U.S. to exclude it from the International Space Station. Chen, Liu and Cai will be joined at the end of their mission for three to five days by the crew of the upcoming Shenzhou 15, marking the first time the station will have had six people aboard.

The Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi has observed the historic Mujibnagar Day highlighting the significance of the day. On April 17 in 1971, the first government of independent Bangladesh was sworn in at Baidyanathtala ( Mujibnagar) in now-Meherpur district naming Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the President, Syed Nazrul Islam as Vice-President and Tajuddin Ahmed as the Prime Minister. Syed Nazrul was made acting President in absence of Bangabandhu who was arrested and jailed in a West Pakistan prison. The significance of the role the provisional government of Bangladesh played in leading the nine-month War of Liberation and mobilising international support was discussed at a meeting held at the mission. Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Muhammad Imran paid homage to Bangabandhu placing flowers at his portrait at the Mission on the occasion. High Commission officials and staff were present. READ: Bangladesh Mission in New Delhi observes Genocide Day To mark the day, the mission organized a discussion at Bangabandhu Hall of the Chancery on Monday morning. The meeting was presided over by HC Muhammad Imran. He paid tributes to Bangabandhu, the greatest Bengali of all times, the four national leaders, Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Capt. Mansur Ali and AHM Kamruzzaman. He highlighted the significance of Mujibnagar Day and said the Mujibnagar government played a historic role in the freedom struggle of Bangladesh. The Mujibnagar Day messages of President Md. Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina were read out by Deputy High Commissioner Md. Nural Islam and Minister (Press) Shaban Mahmood respectively. A documentary on the historic Mujibnagar Day was screened and a special prayer was offered for the progress and development of the country.

The government is “thinking of” bringing changes in a number of important missions abroad, including Washington, New Delhi, Canberra and Geneva. This is according to a highly placed diplomatic source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, although they did add it may still take a "couple of" months at least to complete the necessary procedures for the planned changes, and that nothing is finalized yet. But they did disclose some very specific possibilities.  Bangladesh High Commissioner to New Delhi Muhammad Imran is likely to be the next ambassador to the USA if everything goes well, while current Ambassador M Shahidul Islam will return to Dhaka. The government appointed Shahidul Islam, who served as the Secretary General of BIMSTEC, as Ambassador to the USA in September 2020. Islam is a career foreign service officer belonging to 1985 batch of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Foreign Affairs cadre and served in Bangladesh Missions in Kolkata, Geneva and Washington DC. READ: Brand Bangladesh, tap opportunities: Momen to missions abroad He served as Ambassador of Bangladesh to South Korea and France. At the headquarters, he worked in various capacities including Director General (Americas) and Director General (Europe).  In January this year, the government extended contractual appointment of Muhammad Imran by three more years as Bangladesh High Commissioner to India. Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Offices and other International Organizations in Geneva Md. Mustafizur Rahman is likely to be appointed as Bangladesh High Commissioner to India. Meanwhile, Bangladesh High Commissioner to Australia Mohammad Sufiur Rahman is likely to become Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Offices and other International Organizations in Geneva.

Bangladesh High Commission in London has launched a special memorabilia on Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, titled, "Bangabandhu in Sylhet" on the occasion of Bangabandhu’s 102nd birth anniversary and the National Children’s Day 2022. Prime Minister's Adviser on International Relation Affairs Dr. Gowher Rizvi unwrapped the cover of the "Bangabandhu in Sylhet" memorabilia, documenting Bangabandhu’s historic visits to Sylhet between 1947 and 1975. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Gowher Rizvi said, “Although geopolitically the world has changed a lot since Bangabandhu's struggles for an independent Bangladesh, his ideals and visions for a democratic,  inclusive and secular society remain as valid and necessary today as those were 50 years ago.”  “Various attempts were made over the 50 years to undermine Bangabandhu's progressive and inclusive ideals, but in the past decade the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina upholding Bangabandhu's ideals has achieved unprecedented progress in realising Bangabandhu’s Sonar Bangla vision,” Dr Rizvi said. High Commissioner for Bangladesh to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem in her welcome speech said, "Bangladesh High Commission, London during Mujib Borsho has successfully inculcated the spirit of 1971 and Bangabandhu’s secular, tolerant and inclusive ideals and Bengali cultural identity amongst the vast majority of British-Bangladeshi children through art, culture and recitation  of poetry and leadership programmes on the Father of the Nation.  As a result, today we have amongst us in Brittan an entire generation of young ambassadors of Bangabandhu and our 1971 war of liberation values.” Commenting on the memorabilia ‘Bangabandhu in Sylhet’, the High Commissioner said, “Bangabandhu visited each and every corner of Bangladesh, including Sylhet during his 23 years of political struggle for independence of Bangladesh. Through this memorabilia the vast majority of British-Bangladeshis residing in the UK with their roots in Sylhet will come to know Bangabandhu’s various visits to Sylhet, starting from the historic Sylhet referendum in 1947 to his political campaign before the 1973 national elections.  READ: Bangabandhu Wage Earners’ Centre launched in Dhaka Veteran columnist and writer of the Ekushey theme song Abdul Gaffar Choudhury said, "Bangabandhu was the first statesman in the subcontinent to establish a secular people’s republic.” Eminent organiser of the Liberation War movement in the UK Sultan Mahmud Sharif recalled how British-Bangladeshi gave their everything to support Bangabandhu’s leadership and his vision for independent Bangladesh in 1971 and said: “Today they stand ready to continue all-out support to Prime Minister Sheikh Haisla in realising her Vision 2041.”  John Mylod, Mayor of London Borough of Havering, also spoke on the occasion, praising Bangabandhu and Bangladesh.  The event was attended by freedom fighters, diplomats, academics, journalists, business leaders and eminent members of the British-Bangladeshi community.  A large number of British-Bangladeshi children participated in an art competition on Bangabandhu, organised by Bangladesh High Commission, London. A documentary on Bangabandhu was shown at the event. A cultural programme dedicated to Bangabandhu was performed by the British-Bangladeshi Children.  Earlier, the day's programme began with hoisting of the national flag at the chancery and reading out messages issued on the day by the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the State Minister for Foreign Affairs. A special dua was offered for Father of the Nation Bangabandhu and his family and all the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the glorious War of Liberation, and for peace and continued progress of Bangladesh under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

The Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata Tuesday paid homage to Sheikh Russel on the occasion of his birth anniversary. Sheikh Russel was assassinated at the age of 11 along with Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most members of his family on August 15 in 1975. The birthday of Sheikh Russel, the youngest son of Bangabandhu, was observed at the mission premises with love and respect. The day-long events began with Deputy High Commissioner Muhammad Towfique Hasan, mission officers and staff placing floral wreaths at Sheikh Russel's portrait at the Bangladesh Gallery. READ: Bangladesh's Delhi mission plants 100 saplings on Sheikh Russel's birthday A doa was offered seeking divine blessings for Sheikh Russel and his family. Lunch boxes were distributed among the underprivileged children in the afternoon. Screening of a documentary film on the life of Sheikh Russel and cultural show by children were also part of the birthday celebration. The deputy high commissioner later joined a memorial discussion on the life of Sheikh Russel at the chancery. READ: Sheikh Russel Day: PM releases postage stamp Councilor Rezaul Islam and Secretary (Commerce) Md Shamsul Arif read out messages from President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Eminent writer and columnist Showgato Chattarjee and Sheikh Russel's childhood playmate and neighbour Natasha Ahmed also shared their memories with him.