Haque Specialized Group's News

Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Mohammad Ziauddin has met Congressman Dave Reichert in Washington and discussed issues of mutual interest with special focus on the Duty Free Quota Free (DFQF) market access to the US for all the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Dave Reichert is a Republican Congressman from Washington State and also the Chairman of the House Ways & Means Sub-Committee on Trade. Ambassador Ziauddin apprised him of the sense of discrimination that prevails among fourteen LDCs for not getting DFQF market access to the USA, according to a message received in Dhaka on Thursday. Currently, 34 LDCs out of 48 are benefitting from US DFQF scheme under AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act). The Ambassador further informed the Congressman that all the 48 LDCs get DFQF facility from the European Union. Therefore, he said, it is a matter of justice and fairness that the US - which is champion of human rights and rule of law - should provide equal treatment to all, according to UNB. The Bangladesh envoy also highlighted development activities in Bangladesh in various sectors including Education, Women Empowerment and Counter-Terrorism. He informed the Congressman of the brutal past of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her 'zero tolerance' policy against all forms of extremism and terrorism. He also mentioned the ongoing cooperation in counterterrorism between Bangladesh and its neighbours and the USA through intelligence sharing and other capacity building measures. The Ambassador informed that more than four million garment workers in Bangladesh are women who are contributing to transforming society by alleviating poverty and containing the menace of extremism. Besides, the Bangladesh government is modernising its madrasa education system so the students can get rid of extremist ideas and can better adapt with society. The Ambassador observed if the USA provides DFQF trade facilities to Bangladesh, then Bangladesh will be able to export more to the USA, which would ensure more empowerment of women, more development in education sector and containment of extremism in Bangladesh by using its own resources. During an hour-long meeting held on Wednesday, Congressman Reichert agreed there should be fair trade among the countries. He suggested that a Congressional delegation can visit the LDCs including Bangladesh to explore further trade possibilities.   ....

Published at: 2017-03-17 00:00:05

Somali pirates who hijacked an oil tanker have released it without condition, according to officials. The announcement came hours after the pirates and naval forces exchanged gunfire over a boat believed to be carrying supplies to the hijackers. The tanker, which was en route from Djibouti to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, was seized on Monday with eight Sri Lankan crew members on board. It is the first hijack off Somalia's coast since 2012. Abdirahman Mohamud Hassan, the director general of the Puntland maritime police force, said: "There has been discussion going on after the gunfight this afternoon... We took our forces back and thus the pirates went away." A pirate confirmed the release was made without a ransom payment, according to the Reuters. However, John Steed, a former British army officer who has spent years negotiating the release of piracy hostages in Somalia, told the AFP news agency they had been made an offer they could not refuse. Hassan earlier said that "pirates" on board the tanker had opened fire on Thursday after authorities tried to intercept a boat believed to be carrying essential supplies, such as food. Four people were wounded in the exchange of fire on Thursday, the BBC has learned. The Puntland authorities deployed local forces in the area in an attempt to assist rescue efforts for the hostages on board the vessel, the district commissioner said. The vessel was carrying oil and was owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), despite conflicting reports over the flag it was sailing under, he added. On Wednesday, the European Union anti-piracy naval force, which is helping to tackle piracy in the region, said the hijackers had been demanding a ransom. Authorities were then still trying to determine whether the gunmen, who have not given any details about the size of the ransom, were organised pirates or fisherman whose equipment was destroyed by illegal fishing vessels, as they claimed to be to a local official. The EU force earlier made contact with the ship's master, who said his vessel and crew were being held captive anchored off the coast of north-east Somalia. The ship's tracking system has reportedly been switched off. Piracy off the coast of Somalia, usually for ransom, has reduced significantly in recent years, in part because of extensive international military patrols as well as support for local fishing communities. At the height of the crisis in 2011, there were 237 attacks and the annual cost of piracy was estimated to be up to $8 billion. However, some smaller fishing vessels have recently been seized in the area. In 2015, Somali officials warned that piracy could return unless the international community helped create jobs and security ashore, as well as combating illegal fishing at sea. Some Somali fishermen turned to piracy after their livelihoods were destroyed by illegal fishing from foreign trawlers, which benefited from the lack of a functioning coastguard in the country following years of conflict.....

Published at: 2017-03-17 00:00:05

The leaders of the US Senate Intelligence Committee issued a bipartisan statement on Thursday rejecting President Donald Trump's assertion that the Obama administration tapped his phones during the 2016 presidential campaign. The top Republican in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, added his voice to a growing chorus of lawmakers saying there was no sign of a wiretap. In a testy briefing with reporters, White House spokesman Sean Spicer forcefully defended the president, citing news reports of intelligence collection on possible contacts between Trump associates and Russia in the presidential campaign. "There is no question that there were surveillance techniques used throughout this," Spicer said. The Republican president, without providing evidence, has accused his predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama, of wiretapping him near the end of the campaign. An Obama spokesman said that was "simply false." "Based on the information available to us, we see no indications that Trump Tower was the subject of surveillance by any element of the United States government either before or after Election Day 2016," Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Senator Mark Warner, the committee's Democratic vice chairman, said in a statement. Ryan also said there was no evidence of surveillance. "The point is, the intelligence committees in their continuing, widening, ongoing investigation of all things Russia, got to the bottom - at least so far - with respect to our intelligence community that - that no such wiretap existed," the House speaker told reporters. 'HE STANDS BY IT' Pressed at the White House briefing on whether Trump would back down from his wiretap accusations, Spicer said: "He stands by it." Spicer also chastised the media for focusing so much attention on comments disparaging Trump's claim about surveillance. He said reporters had not focused enough on comments from officials denying evidence of any collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. The Russian government has rejected an accusation by US intelligence agencies that it worked to influence the election in Trump's favour by hacking computer systems, among other methods. Trump has been dogged by allegations that his associates had ties to Russian officials. Trump fired his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, last month after he failed to disclose contacts with Russia's ambassador before Trump took office on Jan 20. An official familiar with the investigations by Congress and intelligence and law enforcement agencies said investigators had looked as aggressively and thoroughly as they could for evidence of any spying on Trump or his associates but had found none. On March 4, six weeks after he took over from Obama, Trump made the wiretap accusations in a Twitter post. "How low has President Obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!," Trump wrote. At least four congressional committees included the startling accusation in their investigations of possible Russian meddling in the election campaign and Russian ties to Trump and his associates. On Wednesday, House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, a Republican, and top Democrat Adam Schiff told reporters they had seen no evidence that Trump Tower was tapped and said they would ask Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey about the issue during a public hearing on Monday. On March 9, Comey briefed Nunes, Schiff, Ryan, Burr, Warner and three other top congressional officials on the same intelligence. Trump appeared to back away from his accusation of wiretapping in a Fox News interview on Wednesday night. "But wiretap covers a lot of different things. I think you’re going to find some very interesting items coming to the forefront over the next two weeks," Trump said.   ....

Published at: 2017-03-17 00:00:05

Foreign affairs and trade ministers from 15 Pacific-rim countries on Wednesday pledged to pursue free trade amid rising protectionism in parts of the world, reports Xinhua. Envoys from Asia and Latin America gathered in the seaside resort of Vina del Mar, Chile to discuss the best way forward, following Washington's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement. "We are hoping the fruits of our conversations gradually materialise in greater integration and more free trade in our Asia-Pacific region," Chilean Foreign Affairs Minister Heraldo Munoz said at a press conference following the conclusion of the two-day talks. At a time of global uncertainty, marked by a rise in protectionism in the United States and other countries, the meeting sent "a very significant signal," added Munoz, whose country is a member of the Pacific Alliance trade bloc that spearheaded the event. Participants will contact each other "for concrete talks" on free-trade initiatives, said Munoz, adding that "each country that signs a free-trade agreement with the Pacific Alliance will become an associate member" of the bloc. The alliance was founded by Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru to promote trade with Asian partners. China, which has been excluded from the TPP in the rein of the Obama administration to shore up the US trade influence in the region, was invited to attend the gathering. According to Yin Hengmin, China's envoy for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, "China's presence here aims to promote economic integration and the free-trade zone in the region .... China is not part of the TPP, nor does it take part in TPP-related talks. "China believes that given the current circumstances, Asia-Pacific economies should continue to move toward regional economic integration, speak strongly in firm support of economic globalisation, reaffirm the construction of an open economy in the region, and promote an Asia-Pacific free-trade zone," said Yin. Munoz underscored the importance of China's presence as a leading global economic power and champion of free trade. Ministers from Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Brunei, Canada, Japan, Singapore and South Korea, as well as the ambassadors of Vietnam, Malaysia and the United States in Chile attended the event.  ....

Published at: 2017-03-17 00:00:05

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in a drive arrested two forest robbers in the Pashur River of Bagerhat on Thursday, reports UNB. Tipped off, a team of elite force conducted drive in the area at noon and arrested Md Sahidul Sheikh, 22, of Amratola village in Mongla upazila, and Md Sirajul Islam alias Nikari, 45, of Lokpur village in Fakirhat upazila, along with four firearms, two machetes, and 13 bullets. Major Adnan Kabir, deputy commander of RAB-8, said they were members of 'Kabiraj Bahini'.....

Published at: 2017-03-17 00:00:05