WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Nellie Pou (D-NJ-09) today announced that she has been named co-chair of Congress’s Bangladesh Caucus. She will join longtime co-chair Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC-02).

“I am blessed to represent one of the largest Bangladeshi American communities in the United States, a key segment of our vibrant district,” said Congresswoman Pou. “Bangladeshi Americans make immeasurable contributions to our state and nation’s mosaics and I will use this new position to build public awareness of the richness of Bangladeshi culture and history. Congressman Wilson is a voice of great moral authority for international freedom and I look forward to working with my friend to advocate for our Bangladeshi neighbors.”

“The Bangladesh caucus is an important initiative in Congress to show support for Bangaladeshi-Americans, and work productively on the U.S.-Bangladesh bilateral relationship. I am grateful to relaunch this initiative as Co-Chair,” said Congressman Joe Wilson.

“Congratulations to my Congresswoman Nellie Pou on becoming Co-Chair of the Congressional Bangladesh Caucus excited to work together to strengthen U.S.-Bangladesh ties!” said Paterson Second Ward Councilman Shahin Khalique.

“As a proud Councilmember of Bangladeshi descent in the City of Paterson, I am honored to witness that Congresswoman Nellie Pou – who represents New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District and the largest Bangladeshi community in the state – has become the Co-Chair of the Congressional Bangladeshi Caucus. This milestone reflects not only her deep commitment to diversity and inclusion, but also her steadfast support for our community as we strive for greater representation and equity. I am hopeful that, under her leadership, critical issues such as immigration reform, support for small businesses, educational equity, and cultural recognition will receive the attention they deserve. As we continue to build bridges between communities and government, I look forward to working alongside her to uplift the voices and aspirations of Bangladeshi Americans throughout the district,” said Paterson Councilman-at-Large MD Forid Uddin.

A total of 39 Bangladeshi nationals, including one woman, were deported from the United States and arrived in Dhaka today (2 August). They were flown back on a special military aircraft (C-17), which landed at 6:45am at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, an officer of the Immigration Department of the Special Branch (SB) of police confirmed to The Business Standard.

Upon their arrival, the returnees were provided with transportation assistance by Brac, while food support was arranged by the expatriates’ welfare desk, Brac Migration Programme said in a press release. Several of the deportees alleged that they were kept in handcuffs throughout the long flight from the US.

“We are not criminals. We simply sought asylum. But we were treated like dangerous prisoners,” said one of the returnees.

Commenting on the deportation, Shariful Hasan, associate director of Brac Migration Programme and Youth Platform, said, “From what we have learned, most of them had sold their homes or taken heavy loans to finance the journey — some spending as much as Tk30 to Tk40 lakh — trying to reach the US in an irregular approach through Mexico or various South American countries.”

Upon reaching the US, they applied for asylum, but their applications were rejected by the courts and immigration authorities, Shariful said, adding that the US administration later decided to deport them.

The 25th annual Colombian Day Parade was held on Sunday, July 27, between 69th Street and 89th Street in Jackson Heights. Attendees of all ages showed off their Colombian pride. Numerous Queens residents were on hand for this celebration of Colombian independence. There were also local elected officials present for the event, including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, State Senator Jessica Ramos, Assemblymembers Catalina Cruz and Larinda Hooks, District Leader Hiram Monserrate and New York State Court Judge Gary Miret.

For Ramos, the parade reaching a milestone of 25 years was very important. “My dad helped found this parade 25 years ago,” Ramos said. “We have been working very hard to increase visibility for the Colombian community and to celebrate our heritage. This is a great way to end our month of celebration here in Jackson Heights.”

Over the course of the quarter-century of the parade’s existence, the Colombian Day Parade has grown to become one of the largest Hispanic parades in the New York metropolitan area.

Former New York Governor and current New York City Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo served as the grand marshal of this year’s parade. He was chosen for the role in large part based on his history of public service to the city and the state as a whole.

The State Department began firing more than 1,350 U.S.-based employees on Friday as the administration of President Donald Trump presses ahead with an unprecedented overhaul of its diplomatic corps, a move critics say will undermine U.S. ability to defend and promote U.S. interests abroad. The layoffs, which affect 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service officers based in the United States, come at a time when Washington is grappling with multiple crises on the world stage: Russia’s war in Ukraine, the almost two-year-long Gaza conflict, and the Middle East on edge due to high tension between Israel and Iran.

“The Department is streamlining domestic operations to focus on diplomatic priorities,” an internal State Department notice that was sent to the workforce said. “Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and offices where considerable efficiencies may be found,” it added. The total reduction in the workforce will be nearly 3,000, including the voluntary departures, according to the notice and a senior State Department official, out of the 18,000 employees based in the United States.

The move is the first step of a restructuring that Trump has sought to ensure U.S. foreign policy is aligned with his “America First” agenda. Former diplomats and critics say the firing of foreign service officers risks America’s ability to counter the growing assertiveness from adversaries such as China and Russia.

“President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio are once again making America less safe and less secure,” Democratic senator Tim Kaine from Virginia said in a statement.

“This is one of the most ridiculous decisions that could possibly be made at a time when China is increasing its diplomatic footprint around the world and establishing an overseas network of military and transportation bases, Russia is continuing its years-long brutal assault of a sovereign country, and the Middle East is careening from crisis to crisis,” Kaine said.

Dozens of State Department employees crowded the lobby of the agency’s headquarters in Washington holding an impromptu “clap-out” for their colleagues who have been fired. Dozens of people were crying, as they carried their belongings in boxes and hugged and bid farewell to friends and fellow workers.

President Donald Trump has announced that the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% tariff on imports to the US from 1 August. He warned he would impose even higher import taxes if either of the US trading partners decided to retaliate. The 27-member EU – America’s biggest trading partner – said earlier this week it hoped to agree a deal with Washington before 1 August.

Trump has this week also said the US will impose new tariffs on goods from Japan, South Korea, Canada and Brazil, also starting from 1 August. Similar letters were sent this week to a number of smaller US trade partners.

In the letter sent on Friday to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump wrote: “We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with the European Union, and have concluded that we must move away from these long-term-large, and persistent, trade deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-tariff, policies and trade barriers.”

“Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal,” the letter added.

The EU has been a frequent target of Trump’s criticism. On 2 April, he proposed a 20% tariff for goods from the bloc, as well as dozens of other trade partners. He then threatened to raise the EU import taxes to 50% as trade talks stalled.

Washington and Brussels had hoped to reach an agreement before a deadline of 9 July, but there have been no announcements on progress.In 2024, the US trade deficit with the bloc was $235.6bn (€202bn; £174bn), according to the office of the US trade representative. Von der Leyen said the EU remained ready “to continue working towards an agreement by Aug 1”.

“Few economies in the world match the European Union’s level of openness and adherence to fair trading practices,” her statement added.

“We will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”

Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement she trusted “a fair agreement” could be reached, adding: “It would make no sense to trigger a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic.” Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on social media that the EU “must remain united and resolute” in its aim to reach a “mutually beneficial” deal with the US.

Germany’s Association of the Automotive Industry warned about the prospect of rising costs for German carmakers and suppliers, and said it was “regrettable that there is a threat of a further escalation of the trade conflict”.

In his letter to Mexico’s leader, Trump said the country had not done enough to stop North America becoming a “Narco-Trafficking Playground”.

“Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough,” Trump added.

In his letters to the EU and Mexico, Trump warned that if either trade partner retaliated with import duties of their own against the US, he would hit back by raising tariffs by a similar percentage over and above the 30%.

Mexico responded to Trump’s threat on Saturday, calling it an “unfair deal”.

Trump’s letter did not say if Mexico goods traded within the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement would be exempt from the proposed 1 August tariff hikes, as the White House said would be the case with Canada.

Earlier this week, the White House sent a letter to Canada threatening a 35% tariff. As of Saturday, the Trump administration has now proposed tariff conditions on 24 countries and the EU. On 12 April, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro set a goal to secure “90 deals in 90 days”. So far, the president has announced the outlines of two such pacts with the United Kingdom and Vietnam amid ongoing negotiations.

Suppliers to Walmart (WMT) have delayed or put on hold some orders from garment manufacturers in Bangladesh, according to three factory owners and correspondence from a supplier seen by Reuters, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of a 35% tariff on the textile hub disrupts business.

Bangladesh is the third-largest exporter of apparel to the United States, and it relies on the garment sector for 80% of its export earnings and 10% of its GDP. The factory owners all said they expected orders to fall if the August 1 tariffs go into effect, as they are unable to absorb that 35% rate.

Iqbal Hossain, managing director of garment manufacturer Patriot Eco Apparel Ltd, told Reuters an order for nearly 1 million swim shorts for Walmart was put on hold on Thursday due to the tariff threat. “As we discussed please hold all below Spring season orders we are discussing here due to heavy Tariff % imposed for USA imports,” Faruk Saikat, assistant merchandising manager at Classic Fashion, wrote in an email to Hossain and others seen by Reuters. Classic Fashion is a supplier and buying agent that places orders for retailers.

“As per our management instruction we are holding Bangladesh production for time being and IN case Tariff issues settled then we will continue as we planned here.”

The hold was not decided by Walmart, Saikat told Reuters, but by Classic Fashion itself.

Walmart did not respond to a request for comment.

Bangladesh is currently in talks with the United States in Washington to try to negotiate a lower tariff. Trump in recent days has revived threats of higher levies on numerous nations.

“If the 35% tariff remains for Bangladesh, that will be very tough to sustain, honestly speaking, and there will not be as many orders as we have now,” said Mohiuddin Rubel, managing director at jeans manufacturer Denim Expert Ltd in Dhaka.

Rubel, whose company produces jeans for H&M and other retailers, said he expects clients will ask him to absorb part of the tariff, but added this would not be possible financially. Manufacturers have already absorbed part of the blanket 10% tariff imposed by the U.S. on April 2.

“Only probably the big, big companies can a little bit sustain (tariffs) but not the small and medium companies,” he said.

Retailers have front-loaded orders since Trump returned to the White House, anticipating higher tariffs. Jeans maker Levi’s, which imports from Bangladesh, said on Thursday it has 60% of the inventory it needs for the rest of 2025.

Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank have beaten to death a 20-year-old United States citizen, the victim’s family members and rights groups have said. Settlers attacked and killed Sayfollah Musallet in the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, on Friday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Relatives of Musallet, who was from Tampa, Florida, were also quoted by The Washington Post as saying he was beaten to death by Israeli settlers.

“We are aware of reports of the death of a US citizen in the West Bank,” Reuters reported a State Department spokesperson as saying. The official declined to comment further “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones” of the reported victim.

Muslat had travelled from his home in Florida to visit family in Palestine, his cousin Fatmah Muhammad said in a social media post.

Another Palestinian, identified by the Health Ministry as Mohammed Shalabi, was fatally shot by settlers during the attack.

Rights advocates have documented repeated instances where Israeli settlers in the West Bank ransack Palestinian neighbourhoods and towns, burning homes and vehicles in attacks sometimes described as pogroms.

The Israeli military often protects the settlers during their rampages and has shot Palestinians who show any resistance.

The United Nations and other prominent human rights organisations consider the Israeli settlements in the West Bank violations of international law, as part of a broader strategy to displace Palestinians.

While some Western countries like France and Australia have imposed sanctions on violent settlers, attacks have increased since the outbreak of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.

When President Donald Trump took office earlier this year, his administration revoked sanctions on settlers imposed by his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Israeli forces have killed at least nine US citizens since 2022, including veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.

But none of the incidents have resulted in criminal charges.

The US provides billions of dollars to Israel every year. Advocates have accused successive US administrations of failing to protect American citizens from Israeli violence in the Middle East.

On Friday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on Washington to ensure accountability for the killing of Musallet.

“Every other murder of an American citizen has gone unpunished by the American government, which is why the Israeli government keeps wantonly killing American Palestinians and, of course, other Palestinians,” CAIR deputy director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement.

He then pointed out that Trump has repeatedly promised to prioritise American interests, as typified by his campaign slogan “America First”.

“If President Trump will not even put America first when Israel murders American citizens, then this is truly an Israel First administration,” Mitchell said.

The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) also called for action from the US administration, noting that settlers are “lynching Palestinians more frequently – with full support from Israel’s army and government”.

“The US government has a legal and moral obligation to stop Israel’s racist violence against Palestinians. Instead, it’s still backing and funding it,” the group said in a statement.

The US Department of State did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment about the killing of Musallet.

The Palestinian group Hamas condemned the murder of Muslat, describing it as “barbaric”, and called on Palestinians across the West Bank to rise up to “confront the settlers and their terrorist attacks”.

Israel said it was “investigating” what happened in Sinjil, claiming that the violence started when Palestinians threw rocks at an Israeli vehicle.

“Shortly thereafter, violent clashes developed in the area between Palestinians and Israeli civilians, which included the destruction of Palestinian property, arson, physical confrontations, and stone-throwing,” the Israeli military said in a statement. Israeli investigations often lead to no charges or meaningful accountability for the abuses of Israeli officers and settlers.

As settler and military violence intensifies in the West Bank, Israel has killed at least 57,762 Palestinians in Gaza in a campaign that rights groups have described as a genocide.

A Supreme Court decision giving the Trump administration the greenlight to lay off tens of thousands of employees threatens to reshape the federal workforce amid a broader battle over whether the president has the power to do so. The Tuesday decision was the latest example of the court stepping in to stop a nationwide injunction – leaving President Trump free to conduct widespread layoffs even as the legal tussle continues.

While a patchwork of other injunctions leaves a few limited protections in place, employees at some 17 agencies impacted by the ruling are bracing for what President Trump in February called “a critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy.”

The Trump administration was on the precipice of carrying out layoffs when the courts blocked the plan in May – agencies had been asked to submit their plans for Reductions in Force (RIFs) by April and were just waiting for administration approval. Some agencies have already said they plan to take swift action in the wake of the decision.

“The Supreme Court decision has allowed us to commence, and that’s what we’re doing,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters Thursday.

“It will happen quickly. This is not going to be an extended wait for people who are listening and watching in this building or fellow Americans at home and around the world. This will happen quickly. We understand that there has been a delay, not to our interests but because of the courts.”

On Friday, the department said it would lay off more than 1,300 employees, including 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers who currently have domestic assignments in the United States. And others among the 17 agencies have already given signals as to the extent of their planned cuts. Health and Human Services, which already announced plans to cut 10,000 employees of the 82,000 on payroll at the start of the administration.

Agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Social Security Agency, Veterans Affairs and more are impacted by the ruling. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal government union, described the news as devastating for government services as it is for employees’ careers.

“There is a lot of legitimate concern among our members not just for their own jobs, but for the Americans who rely on the services they provide — from small businesses, veterans, and Social Security recipients to everyday American consumers,” AFGE president Everett Kelley

“It’s a life-altering decision for tens of thousands of American families. Federal employees across the country will sit at their dinner tables tonight with their layoff notice next to a pile of bills, knowing the Supreme Court’s action just changed their lives forever, and they’re wondering what they’re going to do next to make ends meet. They didn’t ask for this – all they wanted to do was serve their country.”

The Supreme Court’s decision only weighed the injunction lifted by a lower court judge, not the underlying layoff authority or plans themselves. “The content of the [Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans] thus remains squarely at issue in this case,” U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston wrote in a Thursday order granting further discovery in the case.

The dissent from Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, however, faulted her colleagues for giving the go ahead on a plan that may later be determined to be unlawful.

“That temporary, practical, harm-reducing preservation of the status quo was no match for this Court’s demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this President’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture,” she wrote.

The decision will allow “all the harmful upheaval that edict entails, while the lower courts evaluate its lawfulness. In my view, this was the wrong decision at the wrong moment, especially given what little this Court knows about what is actually happening on the ground,” she argued.

Unions too had argued there would be “no way to unscramble that egg.”

The ruling comes after the Supreme Court in a case dealing with Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship placed limits on the extent lower courts can use nationwide injunctions – a massive win for the Trump administration amid complaints about district court judges blocking their policies.

Agencies are in many cases still waiting to hear back from the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management on their plans, but a joint memo from the agencies suggested speed is the goal.

Agencies were directed to seek a waiver to shorten the notification window for employees, giving workers as little as 30 days notice that they will lose their jobs, rather than the traditional 60 days. Once those plans are revealed, the specifics could also be challeneged as well as the process for rolling them out. RIF plans in some cases can require congressional or union notification.

Lawmakers in regions with large numbers of federal employees also said they plan to be engaged on any efforts for sweeping layoffs.

“The Court’s decision to allow this damage to be done before ruling on the merits shows how detached they are from the reality of the moment,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)

“Make no mistake, the Trump Administration’s plan isn’t about efficiency, it’s about rigging the government to only benefit the wealthy and powerful special interests. We are not done fighting in Congress, in the courts, and in our communities to defend the dedicated public servants who go to work on behalf of the American people day in and day out.”

The planned RIFs follow a number of other moves from Trump to shrink the scope of the federal government. Shortly after taking office, departments across government dismissed employees still in their probationary period – a time frame that can last a year or two depending on the role and that can also be reactivated by a promotion. That too left the government dismissing thousands of federal workers who also saw their efforts to fight their dismissal hamstrung at different turns.

A challenge at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) lost the backing of the Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) after Trump fired former President Biden’s five-year appointee to the role, Hampton Dellinger.

Dellinger backed the MSPB challenge while he was fighting his own suit to keep his job, but the OSC reversed course once courts determined he could not stay in the job amid his own legal battle.

Like with the RIFs, there are some injunctions still in place that block some of the firings, but in other cases they’ve been permitted to proceed. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) criticized the latest plans for firings as part of a broader “witch hunt.”

“I will continue to fight against this President’s witch hunt targeting federal workers,” she wrote on X.

“When you attack civil servants, you attack the very people they serve – the American people.”

As Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani charges into the general election, allies and opponents are mobilizing behind new super PACs—one to propel him to City Hall, the other to stop him from getting there—amid growing unease in the city’s business circles. A pro-Mamdani PAC named “OneNYC” was filed on Thursday, according to state campaign finance records. The independent expenditure lists Yasser Salem, a partner at the private investment group Hira Ventures, as its treasurer.

“Campaigning and mobilizing provides a massive platform to elevate community capabilities and culture, collectively and individually,” he wrote on X just days before the June 24 primary won by Mamdani. “After the primaries, we should reflect on this together and think hard on establishing and well-oiled machine/operation #nycmuslimvotesmatter.” Salem did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mamdani’s campaign denied any previous knowledge of the PAC.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist Queens Assembly member, also benefits from the support of a separate PAC named “New Yorkers for Lower Costs” that formed during the primary. It raised over $1.3 million during the Democratic contest, state records indicate, and reportedly will continue operating during the general election.

At the same time, a group of business honchos dead-set on stopping Mamdani formed their own PAC — “New Yorkers for a Better Future Mayor 25” — on Tuesday, according to a Wall Street Journal report and state records. The group is reportedly planning to raise $20 million against Mamdani.

The PAC’s treasurer, Jeffrey Leb, is a managing partner at Capitol Consulting LLC, according to his LinkedIn page. Many in the city’s business community are alarmed by Mamdani’s mayoral bid, citing his plan to fund affordability initiatives by raising taxes on corporations and high earners—measures that would require approval from state lawmakers. He has proposed raising the state’s corporate tax rate from 7.25% to 11.50%, in line with New Jersey’s, and adding a flat 2% income tax increase for those earning over $1 million a year.

Mamdani, who has been meeting with business and real estate leaders worried about him becoming mayor, said on Thursday that while he holds firm in his beliefs, he has no intention of driving them out of the city.

“My vision of this city is not one where any business leader leaves this city, where any real estate developer feels as if they have no place in this city,” Mamdani said during an unrelated July 10 news conference. “It is a vision of this city where everyone stays, everyone thrives, and we actually make enough room for more to join us.”

However, the group has yet to pick a Mamdani challenger in a field that includes incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and possibly former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who will both appear on the ballot as independents.

Adams and Cuomo are both calling on the other to drop out of the race, each believing they are the one best positioned to take on Mamdani in November. Each faces an uphill battle against Mamdani, who soundly defeated Cuomo by roughly 13% in the primary, after ranked-choice tabulations, and has been leading both by double digits in a string of recent polls.

During the primary, hedge fund manager and President Trump-ally Bill Ackman contributed half a million dollars to Fix the City, a super PAC that supported Cuomo in that race. Fix the City ended up spending over $22 million to flood the airwaves and line mailboxes with Mamdani attack ads — a massive expenditure that appeared to be in vain given Mamdani’s margin of victory.

Fix the City has reportedly continued to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars since the primary, aiming to back a candidate capable of defeating Mamdani in the general election. Ackman announced last week that he is switching to support Adams in the general election after determining the current mayor stands a better chance at overcoming Mamdani than the former governor.

The new PACs formed as establishment Democratic pols and groups have begun coalescing around Mamdani in recent days. Just this week, Mamdani was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan/Bronx) and the Manhattan Democratic Party, both of whom backed Cuomo in the primary, as well as the United Federal of Teachers, which declined to back a candidate in the Democratic contest.

The second-round negotiation between Bangladesh and United States over tariff issue ended on Friday at about 4:00pm in the US capital Washington DC keeping several issues unresolved. Washington wanted Dhaka to keep distance with companies under the sanctioned-hit list from the US while Dhaka sought necessary time to meet the US demands, said an official who attended the meeting.

Both the parties agreed to carry on negotiation to solve the unresolved issues, added the official. The second-round negotiation was convened following the US president Donald Trump’s announcement of imposition of 35 per cent tariff on Bangladeshi export goods from August 1.