United News of Bangladesh

The United States and Venezuela said on Friday that they are considering steps toward restoring diplomatic relations, following a visit by a delegation from the Trump administration to the South American country. The visit represents a significant shift in relations between the two longtime rivals. It follows last weekend’s dramatic U.S. military operation in which former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was seized from his residence in Caracas and flown to New York to face federal drug-trafficking charges. According to the State Department, a small group of U.S. diplomats, accompanied by security personnel, traveled to Venezuela to conduct an initial evaluation of whether the U.S. Embassy in Caracas could reopen. Venezuela’s government said it plans to send its own delegation to the United States, though no timeline was announced. Any such visit would likely require the U.S. Treasury Department to temporarily lift sanctions. The administration of acting President Delcy Rodríguez said it had decided to launch an exploratory diplomatic process with Washington aimed at restoring embassies in both countries. Rodríguez faces a delicate political situation, balancing pressure from the Trump administration while also trying to maintain the support of Venezuelan military hardliners angered by Maduro’s capture. Her remarks on Friday reflected that tension. She said she had spoken by phone with the leftist leaders of Brazil, Colombia, and Spain, during which she condemned what she described as Washington’s “serious, criminal, illegal, and illegitimate aggression” against Venezuela. Later, during a televised appearance at the opening of a women’s health clinic in central Caracas, Rodríguez stressed that engagement with the Trump administration was the best way to protect Venezuela’s stability and even work toward “the return of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.” Read More: Jack Ryan clip resurfaces amid Maduro’s capture “We will engage directly through diplomacy to defend Venezuela’s peace, stability, future, independence, and our sacred and non-negotiable sovereignty,” Rodríguez said, without specifically addressing the possible reopening of the U.S. Embassy. President Donald Trump has sought to pressure Rodríguez and other remaining allies of Maduro to support his vision of greater U.S. influence over Venezuela’s oil exports. Venezuela holds the largest proven crude oil reserves in the world. The United States and Venezuela cut diplomatic ties in 2019 during Trump’s first term, after Washington recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president — a move that infuriated Maduro. That same year, the Trump administration closed the U.S. Embassy in Caracas and relocated its diplomats to Bogotá, Colombia. Since then, visits by U.S. officials to Venezuela have been rare. The most recent visit before this week occurred in February, when Trump’s special envoy, Richard Grenell, met with Maduro, leading to the release of six detained Americans.

Paraguayan police on Friday detained Paraguayo Cubas, a far-right populist who came in third in Sunday’s presidential election and encouraged his supporters to protest over his unsubstantiated claims that the vote was marred by fraud. Cubas was being held in preventive detention under an order by the Attorney General’s Office that is accusing him of breach of the peace, Police Commissioner Gilberto Fleitas said in a radio interview. Cubas, the candidate of the National Crusade Party who received 23% of the votes Sunday, was broadcasting live on Facebook when officers detained him outside his hotel in San Lorenzo, around 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Asunción. Fleitas said Cubas got into a police vehicle “without any difficulty," but he continued streaming live. In his broadcast from inside the police vehicle, Cubas chatted with officers and focused the camera on his handcuffs. “You can see now I’m being imprisoned,” he said. “All the criminals in this country should be handcuffed like Paraguayo Cubas.” Cubas had been telling supporters since Monday that he was heading to the capital to lead a series of protests that had led to isolated clashes with police, largely outside the electoral court in Asunción. “We will remain on the streets until Paraguayo Cubas is released,” said Juan Reyes, one of hundreds of Cubas supporters who took part in demonstrations outside the electoral court. At least 208 people have been detained “for disturbance of public peace and other punishable offenses within the framework of the demonstrations taking place in the national territory,” police said Thursday. Efraín Alegre, who as the candidate of a broad-based opposition coalition came in second place during Sunday’s election, demanded Cubas be released along with everyone who has been detained in protests this week. “We demand the release of Paraguayo Cubas and all citizens imprisoned for demanding transparency," Alegre wrote on social media. Alegre, who received 27% of the vote Sunday, conceded the race shortly after polls closed, but then on Monday called for a manual count of votes and an international audit of the country’s electronic voting system after Cubas aired his fraud allegations. The Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission for the election, said Tuesday there was “no reason to doubt the results” of the vote count. Santiago Peña of the long-ruling Colorado Party easily won Sunday’s presidential election with 43% of the vote. Over the past few days, Cubas has published images of supporters welcoming him in different parts of the country as he made his way toward the capital from Ciudad del Este, a city on the border with Brazil and Argentina. Some 1,500 to 1,800 law enforcement officers were deployed outside the electoral court Friday for the protest staged by Cubas supporters. Authorities also prepared for any demonstration outside the police station where Cubas was taken.

Bangladesh has shown interest in signing a free trade agreement (FTA) with Mercosur, an economic and political bloc of the big economies of South America consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Highlighting Bangladesh’s strength as the second largest RMG producer and world-class pharmaceutical manufacturer, Bangladesh Ambassador to Brazil Sadia Faizunnesa has sought Brazil President Jair Messias Bolsonaro’s support to negotiate the FTA with Mercosur. The Brazilian President instructed Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Franca to start working towards strengthening bilateral cooperation, including trade and agriculture, according to the Bangladesh Embassy in Brazil. Also read: Australia eyes new opportunities in Bangladesh's digital sector

The first total lunar eclipse in more than two years coincides with a supermoon this week for quite a cosmic show. This super “blood” moon will be visible Wednesday across the Pacific — offering the best viewing — as well as the western half of North America, bottom of South America and eastern Asia. Better look quick: The total eclipse will last about 15 minutes as Earth passes directly between the moon and the sun. But the entire show will last five hours, as Earth’s shadow gradually covers the moon, then starts to ebb. The reddish-orange color is the result of all the sunrises and sunsets in Earth’s atmosphere projected onto the surface of the eclipsed moon. “Hawaii has the best seat in the house and then short of that will be California and the Pacific Northwest,” said NASA’s Noah Petro, project scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. New Zealand and Australia also will have prime viewing. Read:Solar eclipse on the longest day of the year Circling the moon for 12 years, the orbiter will measure temperatures changes on the lunar surface during the eclipse. Telescopes atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea also will monitor the moon, Petro said. The moon will be setting and the sun rising along the U.S. East Coast, leaving skygazers — Petro in Virginia included — pretty much out of luck. Europe, Africa and western Asia will miss everything. There will be livestreams available. Everyone everywhere, though, can still soak in the brighter than usual moon, weather permitting. The moon will be more than 220,000 miles (357,460 kilometers) away at its fullest. It’s this proximity, combined with a full moon, that qualifies it as a supermoon, making it appear slightly bigger and more brilliant in the sky. Last month’s supermoon, by contrast, was 96 miles (155 kilometers) more distant. Read: 2-for-1: Total lunar eclipse comes with supermoon bonus Unlike a solar eclipse, there’s no harm in looking at an eclipsed moon. More lunar shows are on the horizon. “For people who might feel like we’re missing out, set your calendars for Nov. 19 of this year,” Petro said. This will be a nearly total eclipse where the moon dims but doesn’t turn red. The next total lunar eclipse will be May 2022. The last one was January 2019.