The three-year-old Russia-Ukraine war could end this week, White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt said on Saturday (February 22) local time. News-BBC.

Levitt said that US President Donald Trump is confident that he can negotiate a deal with Russia to end the Ukraine conflict. She also indicated that the three-year-old war could end as soon as this week.

Levitt told reporters on the South Lawn after returning from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that President Trump and his team are very focused on continuing to negotiate with both sides of the conflict to end this conflict and the president himself is very confident that we can get it done this week.

The comments from the White House spokesman came after Trump claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had no other options and should be excluded from future peace talks with international leaders.

Levitt said that US National Security Adviser Matt Waltz would work “day and night” to reach an agreement this weekend and noted that Treasury Secretary Scott Besant himself is continuing to discuss a proposed agreement with Ukraine on mineral use.

Spokeswoman Carolyn Levitt added that these important minerals in Ukraine are an important part of the president (Trump). This is very important to President Trump because it will bring back American tax dollars.

It is worth noting that Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on the night of February 24, 2022 local time. The war that has been going on for the past three years has caused massive damage and loss of life on both sides.

Meanwhile, although Zelensky has recently been blamed for starting the Ukraine war, this time Trump has taken a different tone. In a speech at a conference in Washington on Saturday, he said that Russia invaded Ukraine. However, Zelensky and then US President Joe Biden should have taken steps to prevent a Russian invasion.

Trump also said that the United States will soon sign a mineral agreement with Ukraine.

The Palestinian independence movement Hamas released six more hostages on Saturday (February 22) in accordance with the ceasefire agreement. Although more than 600 Palestinians were supposed to be released in exchange, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ignored it.

He said that the latest hostages were handed over to Israel through a 'humiliating ceremony'. Therefore, the Palestinian prisoners will not be released for the time being. News Reuters

In a statement, Netanyahu said, 'The hostages have been disrespected through a humiliating ceremony. In addition, this decision was taken due to the reprehensible use of the hostages for propaganda. The Palestinians who were planned to be released on Saturday will not be released until the hostages are released without a humiliating ceremony in the next phase.’

A ceasefire in Gaza began on January 19 after nearly 16 months of bloody conflict. Since then, Hamas has released 25 hostages in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire agreement. The organization has organized a special ceremony for their release.

Earlier on Thursday, Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages. However, on that day, another body was handed over instead of Shiri Bibas’s body. Israel reacted strongly to this. However, Shiri Bibas’s body was handed over the next day.

The first phase of the ongoing ceasefire is 42 days. During this period, Hamas will release a total of 33 Israeli hostages. In exchange, 1,900 Palestinians are scheduled to be released from Israeli prisons. Then, the second and third phases are scheduled to begin. However, analysts fear that Netanyahu is not interested in a second phase of the ceasefire.

Rescue operations are underway from the scam center on the Myanmar border in northwestern Thailand. The embassy will provide all possible assistance to the rescued.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Bangkok Fayyaz Murshid Kazi said this on Saturday (February 22).

He said, "So far, we have heard about the release of 5 people. However, we have received information about 4 people. 2 people have already been sent back. After that, the information of the two people we received is still in Myanmar. They will be sent back after verification there. We are also in regular contact with the Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar. They have also taken necessary measures."

Fayyaz Murshid said, "We are making arrangements to send the victims back to the country as soon as possible. For example, in the case of the first two, we have contacted the families. I said, if you send the tickets quickly, they can be sent back now. It will take time to send them back through the government process. The families have supported us there. We have also completed all the processes quickly and sent them back."

People are constantly being rescued from scam call centers set up on the Thailand-Myanmar border. However, not all of the rescued people are being allowed to enter Thailand. On the other hand, Myanmar's DKBA has claimed that due to a funding crisis, not all of them can be sent back to their home countries right now.

Myanmar's junta government estimates that about 10,000 kidnapped people will be rescued from scam centers. So far, more than 1,000 people from different countries have been rescued.

These scam call centers use AI to lure internet users by posing as women. Then, if banking channels are known or investment is mentioned, money is extorted from internet users.

It is difficult to get accurate information about the exact number of Bangladeshis detained there. Many people lose themselves in the world of crime while working in these scam centers. They are never returned. Again, those who can earn more for the scam center are not easily released by their owners.

The largest number of those released is Chinese citizens. Next, of Ethiopia and of various African countries. Then there are citizens of India and various South Asian countries.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has told Bangladesh's Foreign Affairs Adviser that 'Bangladesh should not normalize terrorism'.

Recently, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told Bangladesh's Foreign Affairs Adviser Towhid Hossain at the sideline meeting of the Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) in the capital of Oman.

Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made this known at a press conference in Delhi on Friday (February 21).

At the press conference, Randhir Jaiswal said that the issue of SAARC was raised by Bangladesh in the Muscat meeting. India's help has been sought to revive SAARC. India has clearly stated that the issue of terrorist activities needs to be looked into seriously in this regard.

He also said that SAARC's work in South Asia is not being done properly. Its true purpose is being hampered due to non-cooperation and negative activities of various countries.

Regarding Bangladesh, the conference said that Bangladesh should not look at the issue of terrorism in general terms, but should go deep into it and solve it by taking the right steps. It is important that Bangladesh does not normalize terrorism.

Regarding a question regarding Bangladesh, Randhir said, "We are keeping a close eye on all the recent issues in Bangladesh and have observed the comments of various advisers to the interim government of Bangladesh. Our government has also analyzed the impact of the advisers' comments on our relations with Bangladesh. Their comments are definitely not cooperative. The concerned people should think about the impact of specific comments."

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned that Towhid Hossain and Jaishankar met at the eighth session of the Indian Ocean Conference held in Muscat last week. After the meeting, Bangladesh said that it is very urgent to convene a meeting of the SAARC Standing Committee and for this they seek India's help. Bangladesh said that it wants to have more in-depth discussions with India to revive SAARC activities. In particular, it was mentioned that effective steps need to be taken for regional cooperation among SAARC member countries.

In the context of these discussions between India and Bangladesh, Indian diplomats said that it is very important for the successful functioning of SAARC to reconsider the position of Pakistan and other countries. Pakistan expressed concern on the issue and said that for SAARC to be effective, there must be trust among the member countries and a strong stance against terrorism.