Tag Archives: US

US to stand beside Bangladesh to resolve Rohingya crisis

Rohingyas

MNA Editorial Desk: Bangladesh has sought US support to create a safe zone in Rakhine for Rohingyas, monitored by international human rights groups, with credible international pressure on Myanmar for their safe return. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington, D.C. on Monday and discussed the situation. This was the first meeting between the two leaders since their assumption of office in respective governments. Issues featuring in the meeting were: repatriation of the Rohingyas and creation of credible international pressure on Myanmar in that respect, deportation of Bangabandhu’s killer Rashed Chowdhury ...

Read More »

US embassy issues security alert for its citizens in Bangladesh

citizens

MNA National Desk: The US embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday issued a fresh alert for its citizens living in Bangladesh encouraging them to exercise heightened awareness of the ongoing threat posed by transnational terrorist organizations. In the statement, the embassy said, “In light of calls for revenge in the wake of the March 15 terrorist attack against two mosques in New Zealand, we encourage US citizens to exercise heightened awareness of the ongoing threat posed by transnational terrorist organizations such as ISIS and al-Qa’ida.” Terrorist groups, their associates, and those inspired by such organizations remain intent on attacking US and ...

Read More »

US Golan Heights decision “forerunner” for Israel-Palestine peace plan: Russia

Golan Heights

MNA International Desk: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the U.S. decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights may come as a forerunner of Washington’s “Deal of the Century” on the Israel-Palestine issue. “We are only beginning to get the reaction of the European Union that is somewhat shocked by what their NATO partners are doing with international law and directly in the region, as we have not yet started discussing the main surprise, ‘the Deal of the Century’ that Washington promises. Maybe this is a forerunner of the surprise in store for all of us,” ...

Read More »

Commerce minister urges US to restore GSP facilities to Bangladesh

GSP

MNA Business Desk: In contrast to his predecessor, new Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has urged the United States to give the GSP privilege back to Bangladesh. Inaugurating the US Trade Show 2019 on Thursday, he said it became an “image issue” and once the GSP scheme is restored, “this will give us a new image”. US Ambassador Earl Miller was also present at the event in Dhaka. The US revoked the GSP facilities on June 27, 2013, following two major industrial accidents in Bangladesh – Tazreen Fashion fire in 2012 and Rana Plaza collapse in 2013. Under the GSP programme, ...

Read More »

US Senate votes to end supporting Saudi-led Yemen war

Yemen

MNA International Desk: The US Republican-led Senate has approved a bill to end US support for the Saudi Arabian-led coalition war in Yemen. The bipartisan vote was 54 to 46, and is a rebuke to US President Donald Trump’s support of Saudi Arabia and its leader despite recent tensions. Trump has vowed to veto the resolution should it pass through the Democrat-led House, reports BBC. The war in Yemen started in 2015 and has left thousands of Yemenis dead and millions more starving. The US sells weapons used by the Saudis and its military provides logistical and intelligence support to ...

Read More »

US to mandate Boeing 737 MAX 8 design changes

Boeing

MNA International Desk: The United States will mandate that Boeing Co implement design changes by April that have been in the works for months for the 737 MAX 8 fleet after a fatal crash in October but said the plane was airworthy and did not need to be grounded after a second crash on Sunday. An Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 bound for Nairobi crashed minutes after take-off on Sunday, killing all 157 aboard and raising questions about the safety of the new variant of the industry workhorse, one of which also crashed in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people. ...

Read More »

US resolution to restrain Jamaat in Bangladesh

resolution

MNA Editorial Desk: A resolution has been introduced at the US House of Representatives seeking to curb the activities of Jamaat-e-Islami, the party that committed war crimes during Bangladesh’s liberation war. US Congressman Jim Banks introduced the resolution on February 28. Titled ‘Expressing concern about the threat posed to democracy and human rights by theocratic groups operating in South Asia’ the resolution also asked Pakistan to act on the party. It stated, “The United States should more actively engage with the Government of Bangladesh regarding shared interests in safeguarding human rights, religious freedom, and secular democracy in Bangladesh, while preventing ...

Read More »

China welcomes delay on US tariff increase

China

MNA International Desk: China said on Saturday that it welcomed the release of language from the United State Trade Representative’s office (USTR) delaying a scheduled hike in US tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. In a statement posted on the website of the Ministry of Commerce, citing an unidentified official at China’s State Council Tariff Commission, China said that it was aware of the USTR’s announcement to maintain tariffs at 10 percent until further notice, and welcomed the step. The USTR released language to delay a scheduled hike in tariffs on Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 ...

Read More »

US lawmakers reach probable deal to break government shutdown

shutdown

MNA International Desk: US congressional negotiators on Monday reached a tentative deal to try to avert another partial government shutdown on Saturday, but congressional aides said it did not contain the $5.7 billion President Donald Trump wants for a border wall. “We reached an agreement in principle” on funding border security programs through Sept 30, Republican Senator Richard Shelby told reporters. “Our staffs are going to be working feverishly to put all the particulars together,” Shelby said. Neither he nor three other senior lawmakers flanking him provided any details of the tentative pact. But it was far from clear if ...

Read More »

US Feds to back BB as cyber-heist lawsuit kicks off

cyber

MNA Business Desk: The Federal Reserve will lend a hand to Bangladesh’s central bank as it sues to recoup losses from one of the world’s largest cyber heists, even while the Philippine bank targeted by the lawsuit on Friday called it baseless and beyond US jurisdiction. The New York Fed’s formal agreement to provide “technical assistance” could spell some relief for Bangladesh Bank and sets the stage for its long-promised litigation over the February 2016 heist of $81 million, of which only $15 million has been recovered. Unidentified hackers pulled off the heist by breaching Bangladesh’s systems and using the ...

Read More »

US sanctions Venezuelan state oil firm to escalate pressure

oil

MNA Business Desk: The Trump administration on Monday imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuelan state-owned oil firm PDVSA, aimed at severely curbing the OPEC member’s crude exports to the United States and at pressuring socialist President Nicolas Maduro to step down. Minutes before the announcement, Juan Guaido, the Venezuelan opposition leader who proclaimed himself interim president last week with US backing, said congress would name new boards of directors to the company and its US subsidiary, Citgo. Guaido, supported by the United States and most countries in the Western Hemisphere, says Maduro stole his re-election and must resign to allow new, ...

Read More »

US demands regular review on trade reform of China

trade

MNA Business Desk: The United States is pushing for regular reviews of China’s progress on pledged trade reforms as a condition for a trade deal – and could again resort to tariffs if it deems Beijing has violated the agreement, according to sources briefed on negotiations to end the trade war between the two nations. A continuing threat of tariffs hanging over commerce between the world’s two largest economies would mean a deal would not end the risk of investing in businesses or assets that have been impacted by the trade war. “The threat of tariffs is not going away, ...

Read More »

US, China agree to halt new trade tariffs

new trade

MNA Business Desk: US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have agreed to halt new trade tariffs for 90 days to allow for talks, the US says. The two men met in Buenos Aires after the G20 summit for their first talks since a trade war erupted this year. China says they agreed not to impose any new trade tariffs after 1 January. At the summit earlier on Saturday, the G20 leaders agreed a joint declaration that notes divisions over trade but does not criticise protectionism. Ahead of the G20, Mr Trump had told US media he ...

Read More »

New US envoy Earl Miller reaches Dhaka

Earl Miller

MNA National Desk: New US Ambassador-designate Earl Miller has arrived in Dhaka on Sunday. Miller earlier served as ambassador to Botswana from 2014 to 2018. He is a career member of the US Senior Foreign Service and joined the Department of State in 1987, the embassy said. He served previously as consul general at the US Consulate General in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 2011 to 2014. Ambassador Miller also served in Washington, San Francisco, Miami and Boston and at US embassies in El Salvador, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iraq, and India. The US senate confirmed his appointment on Oct 11.

Read More »

US sanctions loom over Iran’s oil sector

oil sector

MNA Business Desk: Thousands of Iranians chanting “Death to America” rallied on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the seizure of the US Embassy during the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the imminent re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran’s oil sector. Students attending the government-organised rally in the capital Tehran, broadcast live by state television, burned the Stars and Stripes, an effigy of Uncle Sam and pictures of President Donald Trump outside the former embassy compound. Hardline students stormed the embassy on Nov 4, 1979, soon after the fall of the US-backed shah, and 52 Americans were held hostage there for ...

Read More »

US to exit INF treaty, citing Russian violations: Trump

Treaty

MNA International Desk: President Donald Trump said on Saturday the United States will exit the Cold-War era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty that eliminated a class of nuclear weapons, in a move that is likely to upset Russia, reported news agency. The INF treaty, negotiated by then-President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and ratified by the US Senate in 1988, required elimination of short-range and intermediate-range nuclear and conventional missiles by both countries. “Russia has not, unfortunately, honoured the agreement so we’re going to terminate the agreement and we’re going to pull out,” Trump told reporters after a rally ...

Read More »

US again most competitive economy: WEF

economy

MNA Business Desk: The US economy sits atop of the World Economic Forum’s annual global competitiveness survey for the first time since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, benefiting from a new ranking methodology this year, reported news agency. In its closely-watched annual Global Competitiveness Report, the WEF said the US is the country closest to the “frontier of competitiveness,” an indicator that ranks competitive productivity using a scale from zero to 100. The US beat off Singapore, Germany, Switzerland and Japan, the other top four markets, with a score of 85.6 out of 100, the report said, due to its “vibrant” ...

Read More »

Nikki Haley quits as US Ambassador to UN

Nikki Haley

MNA International Desk: Nikki Haley, the first American of Indian descent to hold a cabinet-level position in the US, resigned as Ambassador to the UN on Tuesday and said that despite speculations she was not planning to run for President in 2020. Haley sent her resignation directly to President Donald Trump, who told reporters in the Oval Office that she would be leaving the post at the end of the year after doing ‘an incredible job’, reported news agency. Joined by the former South Carolina Governor in the Oval Office, Trump invited her to come back in a different role. ...

Read More »

Trump apologises to Kavanaugh, declares him ‘proven innocent’

Kavanaugh

MNA International Desk: US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh sought to put a bruising confirmation battle behind him on Monday at a White House ceremony in which President Donald Trump declared him innocent of sexual misconduct and apologized for the heated process. Kavanaugh, whose bid to join the top US court nearly failed after a California professor accused him of assaulting her when they were in high school, said he would enter his new job without bitterness despite a political fight that he told lawmakers had destroyed his family and his name, reported news agency. ‘The Senate confirmation process was ...

Read More »

Trump now likes Swift ’25pc less’

Taylor Swift

MNA Entertainment Desk: Taylor Swift’s decision to break her silence on politics triggered a storm on Monday, with even US president Donald Trump weighing in on the pop music star’s remarks in support of Democrats, reported news agency. Swift, 28, has notably stayed out of the US political fray in contrast to her more vocal peers, like Democratic supporters Katy Perry and Beyonce and Republican backer Kid Rock. But Swift on Sunday told her 112 million Instagram followers that she would vote for two Democrats running in Tennessee in the US congressional midterm elections on 6 Nov. “In the past ...

Read More »

Canada, US reach deal to save NAFTA

NAFTA

MNA Business Desk: The United States and Canada reached a deal on Sunday to salvage NAFTA as a trilateral pact with Mexico, beating a midnight deadline with agreements to substantially boost American access to Canada’s dairy market and protect Canada from possible US auto tariffs, reported news agency. President Donald Trump had threatened to splinter the nearly 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement into a bilateral pact with Mexico and tax Canadian vehicle exports to the United States if Ottawa had failed to sign on before a midnight Sunday. But Trump has approved the “framework” deal with Canada, a source ...

Read More »

US accuses Myanmar military of ‘planned and coordinated’ Rohingya atrocities

Myanmar soon

MNA International Desk: A US government investigation has found that Myanmar’s military waged a “well-planned and coordinated” campaign of mass killings, gang rapes and other atrocities against the Southeast Asian nation’s Rohingya Muslim minority. The US State Department report, which was released on Monday, could be used to justify further US sanctions or other punitive measures against Myanmar authorities, reported news agency. But it stopped short of describing the crackdown as genocide or crimes against humanity, an issue that other US officials said was the subject of fierce internal debate that delayed the report’s rollout for nearly a month. The ...

Read More »

Beijing to reject trade talks if Washington imposes tariffs

trade talks

MNA Business Desk: The Chinese government may decline to participate in proposed trade talks with the United States later this month if the Trump administration moves forward with additional tariffs on imported Chinese goods, reported news agency. The US had proposed the talks, but at the same time moved forward with planning additional tariffs on some $200 billion of Chinese products. The report quoted one senior Chinese official saying the country would not negotiate “with a gun pointed to its head.” Other officials who advise the country’s leaders are suggesting China impose limits on the sale of parts and supplies ...

Read More »

Florence plows inland, leaving 5 dead

Florence

MNA International Desk: Five people were killed as hurricane Florence mauls the United States East Coast, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of homes and downing trees. Though Florence’s shrieking winds diminished from hurricane force as it came ashore, forecasters said the sheer size of the 350-mile-wide storm and its painfully slow progress across North and South Carolina in the coming days could leave much of the region under water. The dead included a mother and baby who were killed when a tree fell on their home in Wilmington, North Carolina. The child’s injured father was taken to a ...

Read More »

Bangladesh denied duty-free market facilities by US

denied

MNA Business Desk: Bangladesh has again been denied re-admittance to the US trading privilege known as the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), with Washington citing ongoing concerns over the pace of labour market reforms since the Rana Plaza tragedy. Even though the two countries renewed their economic ties during the fourth meeting of the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFAdenied) in Washington, DC, on Thursday, there was no obvious change in the US stance on Bangladesh and the GSP. The US trade program is designed to promote economic growth in the developing world by providing preferential duty-free entry for ...

Read More »

US, Canada making progress on NAFTA talks

address

MNA Business Desk: Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Wednesday said the US and Canada are making “good progress” on the revision of the continental free trade deal but talks will continue to resolve remaining issues. As the neighbors try to salvage the North American Free Trade Agreement as a three-country deal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned he would stand firm on key issues as he questioned Donald Trump’s respect for trade rules, reports news agency. Amid the charged political atmosphere, dogged by Trump’s repeated threats to leave Canada out of the revised NAFTA, Freeland said she believes “a deal ...

Read More »

US-EU negotiate to skip trade clash

trade

MNA Business Desk: The United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that US has agreed to work towards lowering trade barriers with the European Union. Trump made this comment after a meeting with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. The two would work for zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto goods, he said. They also agreed to increase trade in services and agriculture, including greater US soy bean exports to the EU, reported news agency. The agreements come amid heightened tensions between the US and EU. The two leaders defused what had threatened to become a ...

Read More »
Scroll Up