MOSCOW SIGNS DEAL TO DEPLOY TACTICAL N-WEAPONS IN MINSK

Russia and Belarus signed a deal on Thursday to formalize the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear missiles on Belarusian territory, a step Moscow said was driven by rising tensions with the West.

“In the context of an extremely sharp escalation of threats on the western borders of Russia and Belarus, a decision was made to take countermeasures in the military-nuclear sphere,” TASS news agency quoted Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying.

The deployment of the missiles was first announced by President Vladimir Putin in March. Since invading Ukraine last year, Putin has said repeatedly that Russia would be ready to use nuclear weapons if needed to defend its “territorial integrity.”

NATO said at the time it did not see any need to adjust its own nuclear posture, though it said Putin’s nuclear rhetoric was “dangerous and irresponsible.” Ukraine said Russia’s ally Belarus had been “taken hostage” by Moscow.

Moscow will retain control over the weapons and any decisions on their use, Shoigu said.

TASS quoted him as saying that Iskander-M missiles, which can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, had been handed to the Belarusian armed forces, and some Su-25 aircraft had been converted for the possible use of nuclear weapons.

“Belarusian servicemen have received the necessary training in Russian training centers,” Shoigu was quoted as saying.

He added that the agreements signed with his Belarusian counterpart covered the procedure for establishing a “special storage facility for nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory.”

NEW US VISA POLICY EXPECTS BANGLADESH TO HOLD A FREE AND FAIR ELECTION

US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken on Wednesday announced a new visa policy for Bangladeshi individuals believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process. The individuals who fall under this policy include current and former Bangladeshi officials, members of pro-government and opposition political parties, and members of law enforcement, the judiciary, and security services, Blinken said in a statement.

The actions to be treated as disqualification for a US visa include vote rigging, voter intimidation, the use of violence to prevent people from exercising their right to freedoms of association and peaceful assembly, and the use of measures designed to prevent political parties, voters, civil society, or the media from disseminating their views.

The US Embassy in Dhaka also gave clarification on the issues related to the new announcement. The embassy says it is a general practice to notify individuals whose visas are revoked or cancelled. It states that the US does not support any particular political party. Restrictions under this new policy target individuals engaging in behaviour that undermines the democratic election process, regardless of affiliation.

“The United States supports free and fair elections everywhere. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government have committed to supporting free and fair elections in Bangladesh. We welcome the Prime Minister’s expressed commitment to holding free and fair elections.” This policy is designed to support these efforts and the Bangladeshi people, so they may hold elections to choose their leaders.”

Even if individuals commit offences after following orders from higher levels and it is difficult to link higher-level decision-makers to those carrying out orders, the policy will apply to anyone undermining the democratic election process.

FORMER PAKISTAN PM IMRAN KHAN, HIS WIFE AND 80 OTHERS PUT ON NO-FLY LIST

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, his wife and 80 other persons have been barred from leaving the country.

The country’s media reports said that Khan and several top leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party are facing cases following the violence after he was arrested on May 9 in a corruption case.

Samaa News channel reported that the federal government has decided to add the names of 80 people, including PTI Chairman Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, to the no-fly list. However, there was no official confirmation on the development from Khan`s party.

The names of all the PTI leaders were put in the list on the recommendation of the “institutions concerned”, the news channel reported.

It said that the police department, National Accountability Bureau and the anti-corruption department had requested the Ministry of Interior to include these names to the no-fly list.

Meanwhile, 16 activists of Imran Khan’s PTI party, including a former lawmaker, were handed over to the military authorities on Thursday for their trial under the stringent Army Act and the Official Secrets Act for allegedly torching the Lahore Corps Commander’s House on May 9.

GERMANY, EUROPE’S LARGEST ECONOMY, ENTERS RECESSION

The German economy was in recession in early 2023 after household spending in Europe's economic engine finally succumbed to the pressure of high inflation. Gross domestic product fell by 0. 3% in the first quarter of the year when adjusted for price and calendar effects, a second estimate from the statistics office showed on Thursday. This follows a decline of 0. 5% in the fourth quarter of 2022. A recession is commonly defined as two successive quarters of contraction.

German GDP data showed “surprisingly negative signals”, finance minister Christian Lindner said on Thursday. The IMF had earlier predicted a recession in 2023 only in Germany and Britain among European countries.

Robert Habeck, Germany’s economy minister, said his nation’s previous high dependency on Russia for energy supply led to the recession but the growth forecasts were much bleaker. “We’re fightingour way out of this crisis. ”

Household consumption was down 1. 2% quarter on quarter after price, seasonal and calendar adjustments. Government spending also decreased significantly, by 4. 9%, on the quarter.

Germany is Europe’s largest economy and its health directly affects the health of the 20-member eurozone and the wider European Union, the world’s third-largest economy, after the US and China, in terms of output and purchasing power, according to the World Bank.

UKRAINE PREZ AIDE DENIES US INTEL REPORT THAT KYIV BEHIND KREMLIN DRONE ATTACK

A senior Ukrainian presidential aide said on Thursday that Ukraine had nothing to do with a “strange and pointless” drone attack on the Kremlin and played down the findings of two US media reports. The NYT reported that assessments by US spy agencies showed that a drone attack on the Kremlin this month was probably orchestrated by one of Ukraine's special military or intelligence units. Moscow blames the attack on Ukraine. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, said Russia was trying to reduce arms supplies to Kyiv by playing on Western fears of a possible escalation because of alleged Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil.

WAGNER STARTS HANDING CONTROL OF BAKHMUT TO MOSCOW

Kyiv : The head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner claimed Thursday that his forces have started pulling out of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and handing over control to the Russian military, days after he said Wagner troops had captured the ruined city. Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s millionaire owner with longtime links to Russian President Putin, said in a video published on Telegram that the handover would be completed by June 1. There was no immediate comment from the Russian defense ministry.

It was not possible to independently verify whether Wagner’s pullout from the bombed-out city has begun after a nine-month battle that killed tens of thousands of people. Nor was there any explanation from Prigozhin about why he was taking the step. Ukraine’s deputy defence minister said that Wagner units had been replaced with regular troops in the suburbs but Wagner fighters remained inside the city. Ukrainian forces still have a foothold in the southwestern outskirts, deputy minister of defence Hanna Maliar said.

Prigozhin’s Bakhmut triumph delivered a badly needed victory for Putin, whose invasion of Ukrainehas lost momentum and now faces the possibility of a Ukrainian counteroffensive using advanced weapons supplied by Kyiv’s Western allies. According to Ukrainian officials, that counteroffensive is already underway.

INDIANS DOMINATE UK’S SKILLED WORKER AND STUDENT VISA TALLY

London : Indian nationals top the tally of skilled worker and student visas issued by the UK over the past year, according to official immigration statistics released in London on Thursday.

The Office for National Statistics data collated by the UK home office shows that Indians were the top nationality for cross-sector skilled work, including specifically targeted healthcare visas aimed at filling staff shortages in National Health Service. They also made up the largest group of students granted visas under the new graduate post-study work route, representing 41% of grants.

“Indian nationals were the top nationality for visas in the ‘worker’ category, representing one third (33%) of grants, and were by far the top nationality for both the ‘skilled worker’ and ‘skilled worker health and care’ visas,” the home office analysis notes. “A total of 92,951 graduate route extensions were granted to previous students in the year ending March 2023,” it said.

According to the latest statistics, skilled worker visas granted to Indians rose 63%, from 13,390 in 2021-22 to 21,837 in 2022-23. In the healthcare visa category, Indians registered an even higher 105% hike from 14,485 to 29,726.

“Nigeria had the highest number of dependants (66,796) of sponsored study visa holders in the year ending March 2023, increasing from 27,137 in the year ending March 2022. Indian nationals had the second highest number of dependants, increasing from 22,598 to 42,381,” it notes.

The latest data comes days after UK home secretary Suella Braverman announced a clampdown on the right of student visa holders to bring dependent family members, limiting it only to PhD students.

IRAN SAYS IT HAS SUCCESSFULLY TESTED LONG-RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILE

DUBAI: Iran successfully tested a 2,000-km-range ballistic missile on Thursday, state media said. Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programmes in West Asia, says its missiles are capable of reaching Israel and U.S. bases. Despite opposition, Tehran said it would further develop its “defensive” missile programme.

MOSCOW TO SHUT SWEDISH CONSULATE, BAR DIPLOMATS

Moscow said on Thursday it was expelling five Swedish diplomats and closing Russia’s general consulate in Gothenburg and Sweden’s diplomatic mission in Saint Petersburg.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the Swedish Ambassador Malena Mard had been summoned and informed of Moscow’s retaliatory measures over her country’s “confrontational course”.

The move came after Sweden said in late April it was expelling five Russian diplomats. Russia said it was an “openly hostile move”, accusing authorities in the northern European nation of holding a “Russophobic campaign”.