Bangladesh on Aug 7 has sought cooperation from China to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar during a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who promised better trade ties, investment and support for infrastructure development in the South Asian nation.

China had used its influence in Myanmar to broker a November 2017 agreement to repatriate about 700,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled persecution in Myanmar in August that year. Despite attempts to send them back, the refugees refused, fearing danger in Myanmar, which was exacerbated by the military takeover last year.

Yi arrived in Dhaka on Aug 6  and met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen.

Bangladesh has strong relations with China, which is a major trade partner mostly for raw materials. But maintaining close ties with Beijing is challenging for Bangladesh, which also balances diplomatic and trade relationships with both India and the United States, China's main rivals.

More than 500 Chinese companies are active in Bangladesh. China is involved in the country’s all major infrastructure projects such as seaports, a river tunnel and highways, and helped built its largest bridge over the River Padma at a cost of USD 3.6 billion.

Amid recent tensions between China and Taiwan, Bangladesh issued a statement reiterating its support for the “one-China” policy. After winning elections in 2008, Hasina’s administration closed the Taiwanese business representative office in Dhaka in response to a request from China, and since then China has increased its engagement in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s garment industry, which brings in more than 80% of foreign currency from exports, is heavily dependent on China for raw materials.

Brazilian police said they arrested a German diplomat for allegedly killing his Belgian husband at their home in Rio de Janeiro, then attempting to cover up the crime.

Uwe Herbert Hahn, a consul at Germany's consulate in Rio de Janeiro, told authorities his husband, Belgian national Walter Henri Maximilien Biot, had taken ill  Aug 5 night, collapsing and fatally hitting his head, police said.

However, analysis of the body and the couple's apartment in the upscale beach neighbourhood of Ipanema found Biot had been severely beaten, they said.

State Bank of India, the country’s largest bank, on  Aug 6 reported a 6.7% year-on-year (YoY) fall in net profit to Rs 6,068 crore in the first quarter of FY23 due to mark-to-market losses.  On a sequential basis, the net profit declined by one-third. In the January-March quarter, the state-owned bank had posted a net profit of Rs 9,113 crore.

Though interest income of the bank rose 10.85% year-on-year and 2.75% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 72,676 crore. The net interest income, which is interest income less interest expenses, also posted double-digit growth (12.87%) to Rs 31,196 crore. The domestic net interest margin (NIM) during the first quarter improved by 8 bps YoY to 3.23%.

The net interest margin is a key profitability indicator of banks. A higher NIM means the bank is earning more profits from its assets (loans and advances). The bank in a statement said that the MTM losses also had an adverse impact on the bank’s Return on Assets and Return on Equities, which stand at 0.48% and 10.09%, respectively.

Operating profit slipped to Rs 1,026 crore from Rs 1,202 crore earlier. However, the interest income of the bank moved up to Rs 4,435 crore as against Rs 4,063 crore. Net interest margin (NIM) rose to 2.53 per cent as against 2.34 per cent at the end of the first quarter of FY22.

Annu Rani scripted history as she became the first Indian female javelin thrower to win a medal, a bronze, in the Commonwealth Games

Rani sent the spear to a distance of 60m in her fourth attempt to finish third.Before Rani, Kashinath Naik and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra had won a bronze and a gold in the men's javelin throw respectively.

Naik had won the medal at the 2010 Delhi Games while Chopra won the gold in Gold Coast in 2018.

Indian athlete Sandeep Kumar added one more bronze to India's medal tally after finishing in third position in the final of the men's 10,000 m race walk at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham

Kumar clocked the timings of 38:49.21 in the final, which is his personal best.

Also, Priyanka Goswami clinched a silver medal for the country after finishing at second position in the final of the women's 10,000 m race walk at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

Eldhose Paul led India's historic 1-2 finish in men's triple jump at the Commonwealth Games as he won a rare gold medal in track and field events and was followed by fellow Kerala athlete Abdulla Aboobacker.

Paul produced his best effort of 17.03m in his third attempt while Aboobacker was not behind much as he finished at 17.02m, which he managed in his fifth attempt.

India has won four triple jump medals in the past editions but this is the first time two athletes from the country have got podium finishes.

Star Indian boxer Amit Panghal avenged his last Commonwealth Games final loss by clinching the men's flyweight (51kg) gold while Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) reigned supreme on her debut appearance.