Proposed budget seems to be a challenging one: BCI
— June 13, 2022Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez), President of Bangladesh Chamber of industries (BCI) said that the proposed budget seems to be challenging…
Desk Report: European Union states have extended sanctions against Syria to four military-linked firms and more people connected with the violent suppression of anti-government protests, an EU diplomat said.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, facing mounting international pressure and wider street protests against his rule despite a military crackdown that has killed more than 1,300 people, on Monday promised reforms within months.
But protesters and world leaders dismissed his pledges as inadequate and the violence continued on Tuesday with the killing of seven people by security forces during clashes in two cities between Assad loyalists and demonstrators, according to a leading activist.
The EU diplomat said Britain and France had prepared lists proposing to add fewer than a dozen individuals and entities to those already targeted by EU asset freezes and visa bans.
The British list also proposed sanctions against at least two Iranian individuals involved in providing equipment and support for the suppression of dissent in Syria, but one of the 27 EU member states had yet to approve this.
Meanwhile, Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Wednesday rejected any foreign meddling in his country’s internal affairs while stressing that Damascus was keen on maintaining good ties with longtime ally Turkey.
“We are keen on maintaining good relations with Turkey with which we share a common border of 850 kilometres (528 miles),” Muallem told a news conference in Damascus.
“We don’t want to wipe away years of efforts to establish privileged ties,” he added. “I wish (Turkey) would reconsider its position.”