Trump says he's inviting Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan to next year's G20 summit in Miami
West Palm Beach (AP): President Donald Trump said he will be extending invitations to next year's US-hosted Group of 20 summit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as the Republican administration looks to deepen its relationship with the Central Asian nations.
Trump announced the plan on Tuesday after holding separate phone calls with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Neither country is a member of the G20, but the host country of the annual leaders' gathering of major economies often invites non-members to attend the summit. The 2026 gathering is planned for Trump's golf club in Doral, Florida, near Miami.
“The relationship with both Countries is spectacular,” Trump said in a social media post about the calls. Trump is currently on vacation at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The Kazakh and Uzbek leaders visited Washington last month along with the leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan for talks with Trump.
The administration is giving greater attention to Central Asia, which holds deep reserves of minerals and produces roughly half the world's uranium, as it intensifies the hunt for rare earth metals needed for high-tech devices, including smartphones, electric vehicles and fighter jets.
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Central Asia's critical mineral exports have long tilted toward China and Russia.
During last month's visit, Tokayev announced that his Muslim-majority country will join the Abraham Accords, the Trump administration effort to strengthen ties between Israel and Arab and Muslim majority countries.
The largely symbolic move came as the administration is trying to revive an initiative that was the signature foreign policy achievement of Trump's first term, when his administration forged diplomatic and commercial ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
Trump last month announced that he is barring South Africa from participating in next year's summit at his Miami-area club and will stop all payments and subsidies to the country over its treatment of a US government representative at this year's meeting.
Trump chose not to have an American government delegation attend this year's summit hosted by South Africa, saying he did so because its white Afrikaners were being violently persecuted. It is a claim that South Africa, which was mired for decades in racial apartheid, has rejected as baseless.
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PM Tarique Rahman vows to turn B'desh into safe land for people of all faiths
Dhaka (PTI): Bangladesh's newly-elected Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday vowed to strengthen the rule of law and said his government will turn the country into a safe land for people of all faiths, regardless of party, opinion, religion, or ethnicity.
In his maiden televised address to the nation after assuming office, Rahman outlined his government's priorities and said that improving the law and order situation and strictly controlling corruption to restore peace and security are his top priorities.
"We want to turn this country into a safe land for every citizen. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians -- regardless of party, opinion, religion, or ethnicity -- whether living in the hills or the plains, this country belongs to all of us,” said the prime minister , who is also the chief of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
"Whether you voted for BNP, or did not vote for BNP, or did not vote at all -- everyone has equal rights over this government...As a Bangladeshi, every one of us has equal rights in this country, in this state," he asserted.
The Hindu population in Bangladesh has been affected by a series of incidents against minority communities in the country after the ouster of then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.
Under the interim government of Muhammad Yunus since August 2024, Bangladesh experienced a rise in mob violence, extrajudicial killings and attacks on minority communities, especially Hindus.
Rights group Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF) said that in January 2026 alone, they documented 21 incidents of lynching and 28 incidents of mob beatings.
Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reported 522 communal attacks in 2025, including killings, rapes, and temple vandalism, with murders of 116 people of minority faiths, mostly Hindus, between June 2025 and January 2026.
The reports suggested leaders and activists of the Awami League, disbanded by the Yunus’ regime, were the victims of most attacks.
India has been expressing concerns over attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh.
Earlier, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the senior-most minister in the new government, said that the law and order issue was one of three priorities and the administration would take steps to end "mob violence".
Alamgir, who is also the party's secretary general and entrusted with the charge of the local government ministry, said, “This (mob violence) will be controlled."
"We must strive to improve the law and order situation, regardless of how much it has deteriorated," he added.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed also said, "The mob culture in no way can be tolerated."
In his address, Rahman said every constitutional, governmental, and non-governmental institution will operate according to established laws and regulations.
“Not party or political influence or force, but the rule of law will be the final word in governing the state,” he said.
He said establishing a self-reliant, secure, humane, and democratic Bangladesh is the goal of his party's government.
Rahman also said the new government has begun its journey amid a fragile economy battered by corruption and misrule, a weak governance structure, and a deteriorating law and order situation.
He also extended his greetings to the people on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.
On the supply of gas, water, and electricity during the month of Ramadan, Rahman said he has already instructed the authorities concerned to ensure the civic amenities during iftar, tarawih, and sehri times.
Referring to his previous pledge that if the BNP was voted to power, the government would follow the ideal of justice of the Holy Prophet, he said, "I believe that this decision of the BNP parliamentary party reflects that very ideal of justice".
Rahman, 60, was sworn in as the 11th prime minister on Tuesday after leading his party to a forceful victory in the 13th Parliamentary polls held on February 12. He replaced interim government chief Yunus.
Rahman, the son of late President Ziaur Rahman and former premier Khaleda Zia, returned home in December after living in London in self-exile for 17 years.
Along with Rahman, 25 ministers and 24 state ministers also took the oath of office on Tuesday.
