Strategic

U.S. and South Korea set to conduct ‘additional detailed analysis,’ statement says Oliver Hotham August 2nd, 2019 – North Korea is believed to have tested a “new-type” of short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) on Friday morning, South Korea’s Blue House said in a statement following a meeting of its National Crisis Management Center. Read More »

Dhaka, July 25 – Defence Attaché of China in Bangladesh Senior Colonel Liu Fangjian on Thursday highlighted the “steady and rapid progress” in Bangladesh-China military cooperation in recent years. He mentioned about frequent high-level visits, continuously deepening pragmatic cooperation and fruitful cooperation in personnel exchange and training. Read More »

Seoul, Jul 24 (AP/UNB) — Russia wants an investigation into a South Korean announcement that one of its military planes violated South Korea’s airspace, a senior lawmaker said Wednesday citing, Russia’s acting ambassador. Seoul said South Korean fighter jets fired 360 rounds of warning shots to drive away the Russian reconnaissance plane that entered its airspace off South Korea’s east ... Read More »

TEHRAN, July 20, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Friday they had seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz for breaking “international maritime rules” as tensions mount in the highly sensitive waterway. Britain however said Iran had seized two ships in the Gulf, with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warning of “serious consequences” if the issue was not ... Read More »

Dhaka, July 17 (UNB) – The United States has banned Myanmar military’s commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing and other senior military leaders from travelling to the US for gross human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings in northern Rakhine State during the “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingyas. “With this announcement, the United States is the first government to publicly take action with respect ... Read More »

Washington, July 12 (AP/UNB) — The U.S. edged closer to crisis Friday with NATO ally Turkey, which began receiving components of a Russian-made air defense system in defiance of Trump administration warnings that the deal would mean economic sanctions and no access to America’s most advanced fighter jet. The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced it received the first shipment of ... Read More »

by Gustav Horn In the latest in our ‘Europe2025’ series, Gustav Horn focuses on macroeconomic institutional reforms for crisis-proofing and a programme of investment to engender vital public goods. After the European Parliament elections, it is time to decide how the European Union will meet the challenges of the near future. If the EU is to survive in the long ... Read More »

France and Iran have agreed to look at conditions for resuming talks to try to save Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers, President Emmanuel Macron says. During a phone call with President Hassan Rouhani, Mr Macron expressed his “strong concern” about the consequences of abandoning the 2015 accord. Mr Rouhani called on European countries to act urgently to save the ... Read More »

Tehran, Jul 4 (AP/UNB) — Iran’s president warned that Tehran will increase its enrichment of uranium to “any amount that we want” beginning on Sunday, putting further pressure on European nations to save its faltering nuclear deal and offer a way around intense U.S. sanctions. President Hassan Rouhani’s threat, combined with Iran surpassing the stockpile limits of the 2015 atomic ... Read More »

Berlin, June 24 (AP/UNB) — European officials on Monday appeared cool toward U.S. talk of building a global coalition against Iran, with the German foreign minister warning that “maximum pressure” without diplomacy increases the risks of a war and several others stressing that their priority is to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East. The split over Iran comes amid deepening ... Read More »

Ramstein Jun 13 (AP/UNB) — The Islamic State group in Afghanistan is a “very worrisome” threat to the United States, and U.S. counterterrorism efforts have yet to shrink its extremist ambitions, a senior American general said Wednesday. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie said IS would be hard pressed, however, to carry out an attack on the U.S. homeland because it is ... Read More »

Dhaka, June 12 (UNB) – Bangladesh has moved nine steps down in the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2019, produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace. This is the thirteenth edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness. Bangladesh has ranked 101st out of 163 countries with a ... Read More »

Dhaka, June 11 (UNB)— Bangladesh and the United States have agreed to work toward security and economic cooperation and enhancing people-to-people ties in support of a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.  The two countries acknowledged the continuing challenge of terrorism, and the importance of adhering to human rights obligations while advancing security objectives, according to a joint statement issued after ... Read More »

Washington, May 23 (AP/UNB) — The Pentagon on Thursday will present plans to the White House to send up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East, in a move to beef up defenses against potential Iranian threats, U.S. officials said. The officials said no final decision has been made yet, and it’s not clear if the White House would ... Read More »

Jerusalem, May 17 (AP/UNB) — Facebook said Thursday it banned an Israeli company that ran an influence campaign aimed at disrupting elections in various countries and has canceled dozens of accounts engaged in spreading disinformation. Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, told reporters that the tech giant had purged 65 Israeli accounts, 161 pages, dozens of groups and four ... Read More »

WASHINGTON DC, Apr 30 2019 (IPS) – Smart U.S. leadership is an essential part of the nuclear risk reduction equation. Unfortunately, after more than two years into President Donald Trump’s term in office, his administration has failed to present a credible strategy to reduce the risks posed by the still enormous U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, which comprise more than 90 ... Read More »

DHAKA, April 30, 2019 (BSS)-International and local cyber security experts today said that the cyber security capacity of Bangladesh has considerably increased due to take various pragmatic actions to address the fast growing cyber-attacks and threats. But, more efforts have to be taken in the area as the cyber criminals are frequently changing their strategy to breach the security systems ... Read More »

Dhaka, April 29 (UNB) – Permanent Representative (PR) of Bangladesh to the UN Ambassador Masud Bin Momen has said multilateralism is the key to ensuring cyber security and no single government can manage its security on its own.  “Our only hope for a free, secure, stable, accessible and peaceful ICT environment is through multilateralism,” he said. Ambassador Masud said this ... Read More »

Dhaka, Apr 7 (UNB) -The government on Sunday deployed members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at Saint Martin’s Island in Teknaf upazila in Coxs Bazar. Sources at the BGB headquarters said BGB members started patrolling the St. Martin’s Island, a small island in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, with heavy weapons from Sunday morning. “Adequate BGB members ... Read More »

By Daryl G. Kimball Washington DC, Apr 1 2019 (IPS) – Fifty years ago, shortly after the conclusion of the 1968 nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), the United States and the Soviet Union launched the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT). Negotiated in the midst of severe tensions, the SALT agreement and the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty were the first restrictions on ... Read More »

Dhaka, Mar 27 (UNB) – Bangladesh has expressed its deep concern over the recent announcement of the US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.  “This is a clear violation of the Charter of the United Nations, principles of international law and relevant Security Council Resolutions,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Wednesday.  ... Read More »

New Delhi, Mar 27 (AP/UNB) — India successfully test-fired an anti-satellite weapon on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an unexpected announcement just weeks before a general election. Modi said in an address broadcast live that Indian scientists had destroyed a low earth orbit satellite with a missile, demonstrating India’s capacity as a “space power” alongside the U.S., Russia ... Read More »

Munich, Feb 15 (UNB) – The three-day Munich Security Conference (MSC 2019) began here on Friday to discuss the future of arms control and cooperation in defence policy as well as examine intersection between trade and international security, effects of climate change and technological innovations on the international security. The MSC has brought together over 450 senior decision-makers and thought-leaders ... Read More »

Cybersecurity threat emerges as a new form of terror, says IEP Dhaka, Jan 11 – Bangladesh has improved four notches to the 25th place among 163 countries with a score of 5.697 in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2018 of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). Last year, the country scored 6.181 and ranked 21st, according to IEP, a ... Read More »

Dagyum Ji and Oliver Hotham January 9th – A train believed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un departed from the Chinese capital on Wednesday, multiple outlets reported, wrapping up a visit to the country in which he is widely believed to have met President Xi Jinping. Read More »

Hackers have spent years eavesdropping on the diplomatic communications of European Union officials, a U.S. cybersecurity firm said Wednesday, an operation disrupted only after researchers discovered hundreds of intercepted documents lying around on the internet. Read More »

China has placed five specific suggestions for deepening the Bangladesh-China strategic partnership of cooperation in the new era with an emphasis on deepening “strategic mutual trust”, saying the next decade will see “faster changes” in the international alignment of forces. Read More »

By Richard Barathe Panama City, Panama, Dec 6 2018 (IPS) – María is a 35-year old Salvadoran woman with three young children. Growing up, María knew her mother but never met her father. When María was six, she started working at the Central Market of San Salvador and at the age of 12 she was raped and became pregnant for ... Read More »

Dhaka, Nov 26 – A 50-member delegation of Bangladesh Army is now on a week-long tour to India in continuation of high-level defence cooperation between Armed Forces of Bangladesh and India. Read More »

Speakers at a discussion meeting in Dhaka on Sunday underscored the need for greater friendly ties with China to accelerate the pace of development by drawing heavily on her experience. The meeting was organized by the Bangladesh-China Cultural Academy to mark the 42nd anniversary of diplomatic relations between Bangladeshi and China. Read More »