Page 3 - International News

Bangladesh could consider joining Mecca pact, in test for foreign ties

"If there is a security arrangement among ‌Islamic nations in the Middle East, it is not unusual for us to ​consider participating. It is being viewed positively," said B'desh junior foreign minister

The $500 billion experiment to build 24/7 markets on blockchain

Modern finance spent decades building markets around a common architecture: recognized venues, set trading hours and benchmark prices that anchored everyone else.

Panama-flagged cargo ship sinks in Bay of Bengal, rescue ops underway

A Panama-flagged cargo ship sank in the Bay of Bengal on Saturday, about 240 nautical miles from the Paradip coast in Odisha, officials said. The ship, with 24 crew members on board, was heading towards Singapore carrying iron ore from Odisha, they said. The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy have launched a rescue operation, they added "We are not sure how many of the crew members have been rescued," a senior IPS officer told PTI, adding that most of the crew members were Chinese. Other vessels in the vicinity have been alerted to assist in the rescue effort, he said. "The ship left the Odisha coast on Friday," the officer said.

Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods beginning Sept 8

Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods beginning September 8, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saturday. The move escalates a trade conflict after Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on about USD 20 billion worth of Canadian products and last-ditch negotiations collapsed late Friday in Washington. Carney said the dollar-for-dollar retaliation would target steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics. Details of the specific products will be released in the coming days. Carney, speaking in Ottawa, also disclosed that Canada had been willing to drop remaining retaliatory tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos if the United States substantially lowered its own, and to encourage provinces to restore US alcohol sales. But he said Washington's final demands went too far, saying, "They asked too much and offered too little," Carney said.

Pakistan to deploy army in Rawalpindi for 'sensitive security duties'

Pakistan government has approved the deployment of the army for six months in Rawalpindi at the request of Punjab's home department for "sensitive security duties". "The federal government, exercising the powers conferred under Article 245 of the Constitution of Pakistan, is pleased to authorise the deployment of three companies of the Pakistan Army for sensitive security duties in Rawalpindi," according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control on Friday. It said that the decision was taken "to avoid any undesirable situation as well as to respond effectively in any unforeseen situation as per the requirement of the district administration". Article 245 of the Constitution pertains to the deployment of armed forces in aid of civil power.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir takes oath as Bangladesh's President

Alamgir, 78, a longtime secretary general of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was administered the oath of office by Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) Acting Speaker Kayser Kamal

Houthis say they attacked Najran airport, Aramco facilities in Saudi Arabia

Houthis have claimed that they carried out two drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting area near the Narjan airport and an Aramco facility

BNP's Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir elected as Bangladesh's new President

Ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was on Thursday elected as the country's new President in the first contested poll for the post in 35 years. The 78-year-old BNP stalwart defeated his rival Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed, the Liberal Democratic Party chairman and the nominee of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance, Chief Election Commissioner and also Election Returning Officer AMM Nasir Uddin said. Alamgir secured 255 votes while Oli Ahmad bagged 88 votes, he said. Of the total 349 registered voters, 343 voted in the election. Six lawmakers didn't vote, he added. The president-elect will take the oath as Bangladesh's new President on Friday evening at the Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban. It is the first contested presidential election in Bangladesh since 1991, as the office had largely been filled through consensus and uncontested polls in recent decades. The presidential election was necessitated after Mohammed Shahabuddin, a

Ousted Ukraine Def Min urges wartime election, warning of governance crisis

Ukraine's ousted Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called Tuesday for elections to be held even as the war against Russia continues, saying the country was gripped by a crisis of governance. The move by one of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's most loyal and longstanding team members until recently could become the most significant internal challenge Zelenskyy has faced since Russia's full-scale invasion. The appeal came in a video address posted to YouTube by Fedorov, who lost his post in July. "We must find a legal, safe, and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process even amid a prolonged war," Fedorov said. Zelenskyy's office did not immediately comment on Fedorov's address. Ukrainian law prohibits elections while the country is under martial law, which was imposed on Feb. 24, 2022, the day that the Russian invasion began. Fedorov said the country was facing a systemic crisis in how it is governed, arguing the current system is oriented tow

Global bond slump sends long term borrowing costs to highest in decades

One fear is that persistent geopolitical turmoil will make economies more prone to supply shocks and inflationary pressures.

Why the vote on taxing California's billionaires is being watched globally

In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has proposed a 2 per cent income tax increase for those earning over $1 million, and passed a property surcharge tax on second homes

Iran, Oman edge closer to Hormuz shipping routes deal as war continues

The move follows a series of attacks in Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas transited before the war

Taliban mark five years in power as Afghanistan faces growing crises

The ​Taliban have also faced a string of assassinations of key regional officials in the country's northeast in recent weeks

As Europe gets hotter, its transportation systems struggle to cope

Rail services are being cut, tracks are buckling and highways are cracking as Europe's ageing transport infrastructure struggles with increasingly intense heatwaves.

Houthis hit Saudi's Aramco Jazan refinery for second time in a week

The Houthis said two drones hit the Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan, days after an earlier attack set a crude storage tank ablaze.

China July bank loans post record contraction as credit demand falters

China's new yuan loans contracted by a record 340 billion yuan in July, as weak household and corporate borrowing pointed to subdued credit demand.

Gulf oil giants are spending billions to build alternative shipping routes

Gulf countries that have for decades produced much of the world's oil are now intent on breaking their dependence on the narrow waterway.

Zhu Rongji: Fmr premier who was the architect of economic overhaul in China

A young Communist star in the 1950s, Zhu was expelled from the party in one of Mao Zedong's ideological purification campaigns.

Meta faces biggest youth social media test yet as 29 US states go to trial

The seven-week trial will test claims that Meta designed Facebook and Instagram to keep children hooked and misled users about the safety of its platforms.

6 killed in Houthi strikes on Red Sea ship, missile strike reported in Gulf

Four crew members and two rescuers were killed in a Houthi attack on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait