In this handout photo released by Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID), Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (L) shakes hands with Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the D-8 summit in Cairo on December 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Bangladesh has asked Pakistan to settle the issues of 1971 to help Dhaka move forward with its relationship with Islamabad “once and for all for the future generations,” state-run news agency has said.

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also discussed the revival of the SAARC and called for a strategic relationship between Dhaka and Islamabad.

Also read | Bangladesh wishes to have normal relation with Pakistan: Foreign Affairs Adviser of Bangladesh

Mr. Yunus and Mr. Sharif met on the margins of the D-8 Summit at Cairo on Friday (December 20, 2024) when the two leaders agreed to strengthen relations through increased trade, commerce, and exchange of sports and cultural delegations, state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) said.

Mr. Yunus urged Mr. Sharif to settle the issues of 1971 to help Dhaka move forward with its relationship with Islamabad and said, “The issues have kept coming again and again. Let’s settle those issues for us to move forward.” Mr. Sharif said the 1974 tripartite agreement involving Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India settled things, “but if there are other outstanding issues,” he would be happy to look at them, according to the BSS.

Mr. Yunus said it would be nice to resolve things “once and for all for the future generations.” India, Bangladesh and Pakistan on April 9, 1974, signed the tripartite agreement in New Delhi after the 1971 Liberation War. It dealt with the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners of war in Indian camps since December 1971 and the resettlement of stranded populations in the two countries.

Mr. Yunus and Mr. Sharif also discussed the revival of the SAARC, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

Mr. Sharif urged Mr. Yunus to work on the possibility of holding a summit of the regional body.

Calling for a strategic relationship between Dhaka and Islamabad, Mr. Sharif said: “We are really looking forward to strengthening our relationship with our brother-in-country Bangladesh.” Pakistan’s state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted a press release from the prime minister’s office and said Sharif expressed gratitude for the facilitation of trade and travel between Pakistan and Bangladesh, including waiving off the condition of 100 per cent physical inspection of the consignments from Pakistan.

Mr. Sharif, who invited Mr. Yunus to Pakistan, also thanked him for ease of air travel for Pakistani passengers to Bangladesh, the APP said.

The first direct cargo vessel from Karachi docked at Chittagong port in Bangladesh in mid-November, which officials said marked a major step in bilateral trade while Bangladesh has already announced to soon resume direct flights to and from Pakistan.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, right, speaks with Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
| Photo Credit: AP

Hungary has given political asylum to a Polish opposition politician who is wanted on suspicions of corruption, triggering a diplomatic spat that worsened on Friday (December 20, 2024).

Poland’s government decried Hungary’s decision as a “hostile act,” and Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that he was dismayed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s decision to shelter a man being sought on suspicions of defrauding the state of millions of zlotys.

The Polish Foreign Ministry said Friday morning that it has summoned its ambassador to Hungary back home for “indefinite consultations.” It also summoned the Hungarian ambassador in Warsaw to give him a protest note.

The matter centres on the case of a former deputy Justice Minister, Marcin Romanowski, but also reveals a clash over rule of law and democracy.

Mr. Tusk took office last year vowing to restore democratic norms and fight corruption that has prevailed under the national conservative government of Law and Justice.

As part of that effort, his government has been seeking to bring to justice some former government officials who allegedly broke the law during the eight-year rule of Law and Justice.

“I did not expect corrupt politicians escaping justice would be able to choose between [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko and Mr. Orbán,” Mr. Tusk said on Friday.

Hungary on Thursday offered political asylum to Mr. Romanowski, who is wanted under a European arrest warrant.

Mr. Romanowski through his lawyer argues that he is the victim of political retribution by Mr. Tusk’s government.

Gergely Gulyás, Mr. Orbán’s chief of staff said that Budapest believed that Romanowski wouldn’t receive a fair trial in Poland.

Both Poland and Hungary are members of the 27-member European Union, and Poland believes Budapest’s move is “an action contrary to the fundamental principle of loyal cooperation” as laid out in the EU treaties.

“We consider the decision of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government to grant political asylum to Marcin Romanowski, wanted under the European Arrest Warrant, to be an act hostile towards the Republic of Poland and contrary to the elementary principles binding on the member states of the European Union,” the Ministry said.

The Polish prosecutor’s office has accused Mr. Romanowski of committing 11 crimes, including criminal group and rigging tenders, and the misappropriation of millions.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday (December 20, 2024) threatened the European Union with tariffs if the bloc does not reduce its “tremendous” trade gap with Washington through oil and gas purchases.

“I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas,” Mr. Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform in the early hours of Friday.

Also read | After Trump win, EU leaders tackle ‘urgent’ reform agenda

“Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!”

According to U.S. figures, goods imports from the EU were $553.3 billion in 2022, while its exports to the bloc were $350.8 billion.

This puts the U.S. goods trade deficit with the EU at $202.5 billion that year.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had already suggested to Trump in November that the United States could supply more liquefied natural gas to the bloc to replace Russian energy.

Replying to questions on Trump’s threat on Friday, an EU spokesman said the 27-nation bloc was open to talks, noting that the U.S. also enjoyed “a substantial trade in services surplus vis a vis the EU”.

“We are ready to discuss with President-elect Trump how we can further strengthen an already strong relationship, including by discussing our common interests in the energy sector,” EU spokesman Olof Gill told a press briefing.

Trump, who takes office in January, has made sweeping threats of slapping tariffs on U.S. trading partners — including Canada, Mexico and China — which could send reverberations across the global economy.

Accusing Canada and Mexico of allowing the United States to be flooded with illicit drugs and undocumented migrants, he had threatened a 25% import tariff, while vowing at least 10 percent against China, Washington’s Asia-Pacific rival.

Earlier this month, the European Union concluded a massive trade deal with four South American countries — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — which aims to create a 700-million-customer free-trade area.

Ms. Von der Leyen had said the agreement would build trade bridges as “strong winds are blowing in the opposite direction, towards isolation and fragmentation” — comments largely seen as a nod to Trump’s threats to hike tariffs.

Some analysts have said Trump’s tariff threats could be bluster, or an opening shot for leverage in future trade negotiations when he comes into office.

But Trump has continually insisted that “properly used” tariffs would be positive for the US economy.

“Our country right now loses to everybody,” he told reporters at his Florida residence earlier this week. “Tariffs will make our country rich.”

Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The raft of international sanctions on Syria must be reassessed to help the country rebuild following the ousting of president Bashar al-Assad, the head of the UN’s migration agency said on Friday (December 20, 2024).

Amy Pope also said Syria’s women must be empowered to play a full role in building a new society and bringing stability to the shattered nation.

Also read | U.S. diplomats visit Syria to meet new rulers

The lightning offensive that forced Mr. Assad’s departure was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch but has more recently adopted a moderate tone.

The international community has been in no rush to lift sanctions on either Syria or members of HTS, waiting to see how the new authorities exercise their power.

“In terms of the sanctions, we really are talking about all the sanctions: UN sanctions, U.S. sanctions, other sanctions,” said International Organization for Migration chief Pope after visiting the country.

“You can see that across the board the sanctions have had quite a significant effect, especially on vulnerable populations. So to rebuild the situation, there will be a need to re-evaluate those sanctions,” she told a press conference in Geneva.

“People do not have access to credit. They are very much reliant on cash.

“The salaries that people are getting for work are extremely low.”

The ousting of Mr. Assad ended decades of abuses and years of civil war, but it has raised concerns about the rights of minorities, as well as women, and the future of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

On Thursday, hundreds of demonstrators in Damascus demanded democracy and women’s rights, in the first such protest since Assad’s departure.

“We… are strongly urging the caretaker government to continue to empower and enable women, because they are going to be absolutely critical to the rebuilding of the country,” Pope said.

Watch: Highs and lows in neighbourhood ties: Is Delhi softening tone?

Is New Delhi making a subtle strategic outreach to its south Asian neighbourhood this season? Bhutan’s King, Sri Lanka and Maldives’ presidents, Nepal’s Foreign Minister received warm welcomes in Delhi.

As the Foreign Secretary travels to Dhaka, weeks after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad, how will 2025 treat subcontinental ties, and how big will the China factor be?

Watch: Bhutan King Jigme’s ambitious plan for the sleepy town of Gelephu

Presentation: Suhasini Haidar

Editing: Kanishkaa Balachandran, Sabika Syed

Labour Party politician Peter Mandelson will be the U.K.’s next ambassador to Washington. File
| Photo Credit: AP

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed on Friday (December 20, 2024) that veteran Labour Party politician Peter Mandelson will be the U.K.’s next ambassador to Washington, a rare appointment for someone outside the diplomatic corps.

Mr. Mandelson, who served in senior posts in the governments of former prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown between 1997 and 2010, is set to take up his job early next year.

“The United States is one of our most important allies and as we move into a new chapter in our friendship, Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength,” Mr. Starmer said.

Mr. Starmer is hoping that Mandelson, who will replace Karen Pierce, will play a crucial behind-the-scenes role during President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, which formally begins on Jan. 20 after his inauguration.

Mr. Mandelson, 71, had been considered a front-runner for the job, which is seen as Britain’s most important diplomatic post.

“We face challenges in Britain but also big opportunities and it will be a privilege to work with the government to land those opportunities, both for our economy and our nation’s security, and to advance our historic alliance with the United States,” Mr. Mandelson said.

Mr. Mandelson is known as a skilled political operator and was one of the key architects of Labour’s 1997 return to power under Blair after 18 years in opposition. He served in Blair’s government from 1997 to 2001 and as business secretary under Brown from 2008 to 2010, and in between was the European Commissioner for trade.

His trade expertise is likely to prove vital in dealing with the Trump administration, which has threatened to impose tariffs on almost all imported goods.

It is rare for politicians to be appointed as U.K. ambassadors — the jobs usually go to career diplomats.

03

रूस और यूक्रेन के रिश्ते 2014 तक सही थे, लेकिन जब यूरोपियन यूनियन ने यूक्रेन को ‘फ्री ट्रेड एग्रीमेंट’ साइन का न्योता दिया, तो वहां के राष्ट्रपति विक्टर यानुकोविच ने समझौते से न सिर्फ इनकार किया, बल्कि यूरोसियन इकोनॉमिक यूनियन ज्वॉइन कर ली, जो यूएसएसआर से अलग हुए देशों का ट्रेड ग्रुप है. कहते हैं कि इस कदम से यूरोपियन यूनियन यूक्रेन से नाराज हो गया और उसे अपने झांसे में लाने की कोशिश करने लगा, जिसमें वह सफल भी हो गया.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Friday.
| Photo Credit: AP

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday (December 20, 2024) shook up his cabinet, changing one-third of his team as political turmoil threatens his leadership and tensions erupt with incoming U.S. president Donald Trump.

The reshuffle came at the end of a chaotic week in Ottawa spurred by the surprise resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland following disagreement with her boss over Mr. Trump’s threats to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports.

Her exit, after nearly a decade at Mr. Trudeau’s side, marked the first open dissent against the prime minister from within his cabinet and has emboldened critics.

Since then, Mr. Trudeau has hunkered down with advisors as he reportedly contemplates his own political future amid calls for him to step down ahead of elections scheduled for October 2025 but expected much sooner.

In Friday’s reset, eight new ministers were appointed to replace those in the 35-member cabinet who have signaled they will not seek reelection, and to relieve others of their double or triple duties in government.

Four current ministers were also given new responsibilities.

Ms. Freeland, who also quit her role as finance minister, has said she would seek re-election next year.

Behind in the polls

Mr. Trudeau’s childhood friend and ally Dominic LeBlanc was already sworn in as the new finance minister hours after Freeland quit.

He also took over the reins from her on negotiating with the incoming Trump administration.

Several cabinet recruits, as they headed into the swearing-in ceremony Friday, declared their confidence in Mr. Trudeau.

But part of his caucus has urged him to resign, worried that voter fatigue with his leadership will hamstring the Liberals in the next election.

Mr. Trudeau swept to power in 2015 and led the Liberals to two more ballot box victories in 2019 and 2021.

But he now trails by 20 points his main rival, Conservative Pierre Poilievre, in public opinion polls. And his Liberals lost four by-elections this year.

Compounding those woes, Mr. Trudeau faces the possibility that Mr. Trump in January will slap 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, accusing both of allowing the United States to be flooded with illicit drugs, namely fentanyl, and undocumented migrants.

More than 75 percent of Canadian exports go to the United States and nearly two million Canadian jobs depend on trade.

In her resignation letter, Ms. Freeland warned this could lead to a “tariff war” with the United States and urged Ottawa to keep its “fiscal powder dry” while rebuking Trudeau’s spendthrift policies.

Mr. Trudeau last month traveled to Florida to meet with Mr. Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in a bid to head off a trade war.

Mr. Trump called the talks over dinner “very productive.”

But since then the president-elect has also landed humiliating blows against Mr. Trudeau on social media, repeatedly calling him “governor” of Canada and declaring that the United States’ northern neighbor becoming the 51st US state is a “great idea.”

Political analysts and officials have said the taunts appeared aimed at putting Mr. Trudeau on the back foot in bilateral negotiations.

A Ukrainian attack on Friday (December 20, 2024) on a town in Russia’s Kursk border region using U.S.-supplied missiles killed six people, including a child, a senior local official said. The attack came hours after Ukrainian authorities said a Russian ballistic missile strike on Kyiv killed at least one person and wounded 13.

Moscow claimed the Kyiv strike was in response to a Ukrainian strike on Russian soil using American-made weapons earlier this week.

Ten other people in the Kursk town of Rylsk, including a 13-year-old, were hospitalized after Friday’s strike with HIMARS missiles, Kursk acting Gov. Alexander Khinshtein said. He provided no further details.

Russia is trying to push back a Ukrainian incursion into Kursk that was launched in early August, but Ukraine’s troops are dug in.

The truck-mounted HIMARS launchers fire GPS-guided missiles capable of hitting targets up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) away. The mobile launchers are hard for the enemy to spot and can quickly change position after firing to escape airstrikes.

President Joe Biden last month authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deeper inside Russia, easing limitations on the longer-range weapons. The move was a response to Russia deploying thousands of North Korean troops to reinforce its war effort, officials said.

Shortly before sunrise on Friday, at least three loud blasts were heard in Kyiv. Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted five Iskander short-range ballistic missiles fired at the city. The attack knocked out heating to 630 residential buildings, 16 medical facilities and 30 schools and kindergartens, the city administration said. Falling missile debris caused damage and sparked fires in three districts.

“We ask citizens to immediately respond to reports of ballistic attack threats, because there is very little time to find shelter,” the air force said.

During the nearly three years since the war began, Russia has regularly bombarded civilian areas of Ukraine, often in an attempt to cripple the power grid and unnerve Ukrainians. Ukraine, struggling to hold back Russia’s bigger army on the front line, has attempted to strike Russian infrastructure supporting the country’s war effort.

The falling debris in Kyiv caused damage to around two dozen high-rise office buildings in the city center as well as the landmark Catholic Church of St. Nicholas and the Kyiv National Linguistic University.

What may have been the blast wave from an intercepted low-flying missile also blew out windows and caused other damage at six embassies, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

About five hours later, air raid sirens rang out again. Valeriia Dubova, a 32-year-old photographer, took cover with many others in a crowded subway station.

She said that in the morning attack, she sheltered at home and could feel the walls shaking. Outside, fire engines and ambulances raced down city streets, she said.

“You could see that many buildings, high-rises, were damaged, with glass shards on the ground, far from the explosion epicenter,” she said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the strike was in response to a Ukrainian missile attack on Russia’s Rostov border region two days earlier. That attack used six American-made Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, missiles and four Storm Shadow air-launched missiles provided by the United Kingdom, it said.

That day, Ukraine claimed to have targeted a Rostov oil refinery as part of its campaign to strike Russian infrastructure supporting the country’s war effort.

The use of Western-supplied weapons to strike Russia has angered the Kremlin. Ukraine fired several American-supplied longer-range missiles into Russia for the first time on Nov. 19 after Washington eased restrictions on their use.

That development prompted Russia to use a new hypersonic missile, called Oreshnik, for the first time. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that the missile could be used to target government buildings in Kyiv, though there have been no reports of an Oreshnik being used for a second time.

Answering the Ukrainian attack on Rostov on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the military carried out a group strike with “high-precision, long-range weapons” on the command center of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency and another location where it said Ukraine’s Neptune missile systems are designed and produced.

The attack also targeted Ukrainian ground-based cruise missile systems and U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

“The objectives of the strike have been achieved. All objects are hit,” the ministry said in a Telegram post.

Its claims could not immediately be verified.

In other Russian attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine, six people, including a 15-year-old girl, were injured by missiles in Kryvyi Rih, regional authorities said. It was the second straight night of attacks in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown.

Also, Russian artillery shelled the southern city of Kherson Friday morning, causing widespread damage and leaving around 60,000 people without power, regional Gov. Olesksandr Prokudin said.

The ADMK Workers’ Rights Retrieval Committee coordinator, O. Panneerselvam, on Saturday criticised the DMK government for its decision to appoint 8,997 cook assistants on the basis of consolidated pay of ₹3,000 per month under the Puratchi Thalaivar MGR Nutritious Noon Meal Scheme.

In a statement, Mr. Panneerselvam pointed out that it had been the practice of recruiting cook assistants on the basis of special time scale pay, which was much lower than what was being adopted for regular government employees. Calling the move “unacceptable,” the former Chief Minister said this would only serve the purpose of the DMK government getting publicity for having appointed nearly 9,000 persons but nothing else. He also doubted the efficacy of appointing persons on such a pay, when private individuals and firms were hiring persons for ₹10,000 to ₹15,000.

Besides, there were doubts whether the recruitment would be carried out in a transparent manner. “If the DMK regime is sincere about providing employment to the lowest strata in the society, it should recruit persons for the post on the basis of special time scale pay, apart from being transparent about the recruitment process,” he observed, adding that the ruling party had not yet fulfilled its electoral promise of absorbing staff of noon-meal and anganwadi centres as government employees. In another statement, the former Chief Minister expressed concern over the law and order situation in the wake of the murder of a youth on the campus of Tiruneveli court.

Meanwhile, AIADMK organisation secretary and former Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar said that his party’s general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami had exposed the “pathetic” state of law and order in the State. It was for this reason that out of “frustration,” Law Minister S. Regupathy had spoken against the AIADMK chief, Mr Jayakumar said, wondering whether the Minister did not run shy of going against the party that had made him originally a legislator and a Minister. The former Minister cautioned Mr. Regupathy of having to face stronger repulsion in the event of causing trouble to the AIADMK.