United News of Bangladesh

Navi Pillay, the South African-born jurist awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week, said on Monday that she initially needed written confirmation of the award before believing the news, reflecting her approach as a judge of relying on evidence. “I received the letter in writing … so now I have read it for myself, and it's true,” Pillay, 85, told The Associated Press in an interview. She received the award for promoting international law at a time when the global legal system is facing mounting challenges. Pillay's career has included defending the rights of imprisoned Nelson Mandela, chairing a United Nations commission that concluded Israel committed genocide in Gaza, and serving as a judge at three international courts. “To be honored for that kind of work is tremendous, not only for me, but for all my colleagues,” she said. On the 125th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee sought to highlight the importance of the rule of law at both national and international levels. “The rule of law, national and international, underpins the system we have set up to ensure peace and resolve conflicts nonviolently. Peace requires justice,” committee Chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes said. Pillay's award is widely viewed as a high-profile rebuke to US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both of whom have rejected the findings of the UN commission she led on Gaza. Both leaders have also strongly criticised the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, where Pillay previously served as a judge. “I value the focus of the selection committee on this important area, because it does affect the whole world if the rule of law is not respected,” she said. Pillay criticised Trump, who has long sought the Nobel Peace Prize, describing Washington's attacks on the ICC as “completely unlawful” and “negative and cruel.” “Heads of countries have a particular responsibility to spell out the principles, which is that you respect the law, you respect international law,” she said. Hours after the announcement of her award in Oslo, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sweeping new sanctions against the ICC as part of a campaign to dismantle the institution. Pillay urged countries to defend the court and the broader international legal order, calling for “collective action, not just words” from the international community. She said impunity was unpopular across the world and that people wanted justice. Public frustration, she added, stemmed partly from the fact that powerful countries such as Russia and the United States are not members of the ICC but hold permanent seats on the UN Security Council, where they can veto efforts to hold them accountable. Pillay faced strong criticism from Israel over her role as chair of the UN commission on Gaza, which concluded last year that Israel had committed genocide in the territory with the specific intent of destroying Palestinians there. She dismissed Israel's response, saying the conclusions had been challenged only by the United States and Israel. “We just have this condemnation by the state of Israel because they are the ones that we have held responsible,” she said. Human rights organisations and many genocide experts have reached similar conclusions. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel strongly denies the allegations. Pillay acknowledged that the current global situation may appear challenging but noted that international law is a relatively recent development in human history. “Justice is slow, so we must not be impatient,” she said. However, she cautioned against complacency and urged people to assess events as a judge would by examining the evidence rather than accepting claims at face value. “Don't fall for false propaganda or just repeat slogans,” Pillay said, urging people to verify the evidence for themselves.

At least 139 people, including children, have died after a boat carrying more than 300 migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti in East Africa, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Sunday. The death toll includes only those buried by Djiboutian authorities. Other victims have been buried by fellow migrants, but their bodies will not be included in the official count until authorities can verify them, Alexandre Coissac, IOM chief of mission in Djibouti, told The Associated Press by phone. “What is terrible is that they were buried with no names, in a common grave, like in a war situation,” Coissac said. “They all have a mother, a father, and we may never learn what happened.” Coissac said the migrants boarded the boat on the evening of Oct 8 and that it sank shortly afterwards near the shore, mainly because it was overcrowded. “The local authorities did their best,” he said, adding that they were overwhelmed as bodies continued to wash ashore in large numbers. Authorities were taking survivors to the IOM rescue centre in Obock, where they were receiving medical treatment after swallowing seawater, along with psychological support, Coissac said. “They’re all in a state of shock,” he said, recalling his visit to the shipwreck area on Saturday. “I tried to talk to some of them but it’s very difficult.” Some survivors at the IOM centre already know that their family members died in the shipwreck. Others were given access to phones to inform relatives back home that they had survived. At least 84 people remained missing in what was among the deadliest shipwrecks on the popular but perilous migration route from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, where many migrants seek employment in wealthy Gulf countries. According to the IOM, the boat was travelling from Djibouti to Yemen when it capsized on Thursday night or Friday morning. More than 80 people survived, all of them Ethiopian nationals, the agency said. The Geneva-based UN migration agency said 305 people were aboard the vessel and warned that the death toll could rise further. Personal belongings believed to have belonged to the migrants, including shoes, were seen on a beach in a video shared by the IOM. Rescue operations continued as concerns mounted over those still missing. Tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa travel through Djibouti each year and cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait towards Gulf countries in search of safety and economic opportunities, the IOM said in a statement. The migration route remains in use despite a recent escalation in fighting in Yemen, on the opposite side of the strait. “This is a devastating loss of life,” Coissac said. “This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities.” In recent weeks, at least 2,000 Yemenis have received assistance in Djibouti as fighting has intensified in Yemen between the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. This movement is in the opposite direction to that of the migrants who died in the shipwreck and differs from the usual migration pattern of recent years. Tens of thousands of people crossing from eastern Africa to Yemen each year have typically been seeking work in countries such as Saudi Arabia. More than 900 migrants died or went missing along the route last year, according to the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project. “No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way,” IOM Director-General Amy Pope said. “We cannot keep treating these deaths as normal. Safe and legal pathways save lives. I am asking governments and donors to act before the next boat goes down.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said Russia was solely responsible for the war in Ukraine and offered to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries if Moscow stopped attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, pushing back against US President Donald Trump’s call for a new Ukrainian leader. Zelenskyy said any de-escalation must be reciprocal and backed by credible guarantees. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also defended Zelenskyy, saying the Ukrainian people had the right to decide who leads their country. Trump on Saturday said Ukraine should get a new president who could reach a deal to end the war, blaming Zelenskyy for high diesel prices in the United States. Trump had struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to buy Russian diesel amid rising fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack damaged a data centre operated by Russian technology giant Yandex in the city of Vladimir, east of Moscow, on Sunday, disrupting its services. It was the third strike on the company’s facilities in four days. Yandex said operations at the facility had been completely halted, but no injuries were reported. Previous attacks hit its data centres in Russia’s Ryazan and Kaluga regions. Elsewhere, Zelenskyy said 23 people, including four children, were killed in a Russian bombing in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Saturday. More than 30 others were wounded, with eight remaining in hospital, regional officials said. In Russia’s Bryansk border region, a Ukrainian drone strike killed a man and wounded two women, local officials said Sunday.

A Russian guided bomb exploded near public buses packed with passengers in eastern Ukraine, killing 30 people, authorities said Thursday, as a wave of Russian attacks also worsened power outages in the capital, Kyiv. The morning strike hit near a bus stop in the war-ravaged city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, prompting the suspension of public transport in the area. “There is no doubt that Russia is cynically targeting civilians,” said Oleksandr Honcharenko, head of the city's military administration. He added that subsequent Russian attacks involving small drones hampered rescue operations. Russia and Ukraine are engaged in a long-range aerial war, while their ground forces remain largely deadlocked along the front line, more than four and a half years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion. Russia has intensified its aerial attacks in recent weeks, putting further pressure on Ukraine ahead of winter and targeting infrastructure vital to its war-battered economy. Recent targets have included energy systems, major industries, railways, post offices, shopping centres, telecommunications networks, gas stations and grain exports. Thursday's attack came a day after a Russian missile strike killed 22 people, including five children, in the northern Ukrainian town of Pryluky. Rescuers were searching through the rubble of a residential building, while at least 54 people were wounded. Several survivors were sleeping in heavily damaged apartments because they had nowhere else to go. Ukraine seeks more defence support from NATO Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Pryluky on Thursday alongside visiting British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who announced new sanctions against Russia. Zelenskyy warned that Russia would likely intensify its daily missile and drone attacks as winter approaches and called on NATO countries to provide additional defence support. “It is important that support in words takes concrete form in new packages for Ukraine's defense,” he wrote in an online post. “Supplies of anti-ballistic capabilities, ammunition for our combat aircraft and investments in interceptors — all of this is directly helping save lives every day.” In audio clips released in response to journalists' questions on Thursday evening, Zelenskyy said a Ukrainian delegation would meet representatives of US President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, in the United States for two days beginning Friday. The talks would focus, among other issues, on strengthening Ukraine's air defences. Ukraine's energy company DTEK said national grid operator Ukrenergo had ordered emergency power cuts in Kyiv. During the emergency shutdowns, the regular scheduled rolling power outages imposed across the country would be suspended. Authorities have urged families to prepare emergency kits, stock drinking water and maintain backup power supplies as Russia continues its intense attacks. Kyiv police said bomb disposal experts had defused two unexploded ballistic missile warheads, each weighing about half a tonne, that landed near residential buildings. Late Wednesday, Russian drones struck the city's Obolonskyi and Desnianskyi districts, killing four people and injuring 12 others, including four children, police said. Ukrainian attacks damage data centre and oil refinery Russian technology giant Yandex said one of its data centres in the western Ryazan region was damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack, forcing the facility offline. Ukraine also said on Thursday that its forces had struck a major oil refinery complex in Salavat, about 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) east of Moscow. Ukraine's General Staff described the complex as one of Russia's largest oil refining and petrochemical facilities. The claim could not be independently verified. Ukrainian drones also reached Russia's Omsk region in western Siberia, more than 2,000 kilometres (1,242 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Omsk regional Governor Vitaly Khotsenko said air defences had shot down most of the drones, but one “reached a northern industrial hub”. He provided no further details. Russian independent news outlet Astra reported that the Omsk oil refinery was on fire following the attack, but there was no official confirmation. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his government had presented proposals to both Russia and Ukraine aimed at protecting civilian shipping in the Black Sea. He warned that escalating military offensives could disrupt commercial trade and grain exports. Separately, Lithuania deployed around 100 additional soldiers to help secure its border with Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, the Baltic country's Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said. Located between Lithuania and Poland, Kaliningrad is separated from mainland Russia and remains a major security concern for NATO's eastern flank.

Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv and around a dozen other Ukrainian regions overnight into Wednesday, killing at least 21 civilians, including four children, and injuring around 60, Ukrainian officials said. The attack came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that intelligence indicated Russia was preparing a “massive” strike. Despite anticipating the attack, Ukraine was unable to fully repel the barrage, which coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 74th birthday. The casualties and destruction highlighted Ukraine’s difficulties in intercepting Russian ballistic missiles and newly deployed jet-powered drones amid Moscow’s increasingly intense aerial campaign. Ukraine has been facing shortages of ammunition for its US-made Patriot air defense systems, limiting its ability to counter Russian ballistic weapons. Kyiv is also racing to develop a new generation of interceptors capable of engaging Russia’s high-speed, jet-powered drones. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a sustained long-range air war while their ground forces remain largely deadlocked, more than four and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the latest attacks, saying Russia was pursuing “a deliberate strategy of terror” aimed at making daily life impossible for Ukrainians seeking peace. A Russian strike destroyed an apartment building in Pryluky in Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region, killing 15 people, including four children, and injuring around 50, according to local authorities. Deaths were also reported in three other Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Zelenskyy said. “The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively,” he said in a social media post. In Kremenchuk in the Poltava region, two people were killed and seven others injured, according to Vitalii Diakivnych, head of the regional military administration. A rescue operation was still underway. Diakivnych said the attacks were intended to spread fear among civilians. “That is exactly what the enemy is counting on. For us to be afraid to fall asleep. To let our children out of our sight. To plan anything. So that everyone thinks: next time it could be my address,” he said. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces carried out a “massive” overnight strike targeting industrial facilities involved in producing and storing missiles and drones across Ukraine. It also claimed that port and ship-repair facilities in the southern Odesa region, along with vessels carrying cargo for the Ukrainian military, were hit. Ukraine strikes Russian oil facilities Ukraine responded by launching long-range drones and missiles against Russian oil refineries and storage facilities, according to Zelenskyy. He said Ukrainian forces targeted two oil facilities and a training ground in Russia’s Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions. Russian officials did not immediately comment on the claims. Zelenskyy also suggested that Ukraine had carried out an attack in the Black Sea, posting images that he said showed an oil tanker on fire near the Russian resort city of Sochi. The images could not be independently verified. Some Russian online media outlets also published the images late Tuesday, while unconfirmed reports said the vessel was carrying oil from Novorossiysk to India and had been attacked by Ukrainian sea drones.

French riot police used tear gas to disperse crowds in Paris and other cities Tuesday as more than 266,000 people joined nationwide demonstrations in support of high school students demanding increased education funding, according to government figures. The protests, which drew 56,000 people in Paris, added to pressure on the administration of outgoing President Emmanuel Macron. As students blockaded schools, demonstrators carrying flags and placards took to the streets in Marseille, Strasbourg and other cities. The protests have expanded from a movement that began at a high school in the Paris region in mid-September into a nationwide campaign, becoming the latest in a series of demonstrations during Macron's nearly decade-long tenure. "We need to listen to them," said Léa Monimart, an adult demonstrator in Lille. "They are 17 years old; they are not completely clueless, and they know what they are talking about. It's important to show that there are adults who support them." The Interior Ministry said 266,000 people demonstrated across France Tuesday, including 56,000 in Paris, where small groups clashed with riot police in a city square following an otherwise largely peaceful march. Nearly 500 people were detained, the ministry said. The arrests, use of tear gas and other riot-control weapons against teenagers have intensified anger among some parents and teachers. Some student groups have called for further protests Thursday. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez defended the police response as proportionate in "almost all cases," saying some demonstrations had descended into riots and required police intervention. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the government and school authorities must listen to students' concerns and work toward solutions. Speaking in parliament Tuesday, Lecornu condemned what he called "ultra violence" targeting schools. Addressing criticism of police tactics, he said any "accidents" would be investigated and rejected allegations that police were racist as a "lie." Class boycotts, arrests fuel tensions More than two weeks of class boycotts and school blockades, along with a police crackdown that has resulted in more than 6,500 arrests, most involving minors, have become a major flashpoint during the early stages of the presidential election campaign. University student Felix Barney called the police response disproportionate, saying it does not make "any sense to hit minors." "Riot police, batons, rubber bullets, tear gas," said Aurélien Le Coq, a lawmaker from the far-left France Unbowed party, whose presidential candidate has strongly backed the protests. "The violence is 'absolutely unbearable,'" Le Coq said. Nuñez continued to defend police tactics despite a growing number of serious injuries attributed to riot-control weapons. In the latest incident, a 15-year-old boy lost a hand Monday in an incident involving a police stun grenade. Nuñez said 715 police officers had also been injured. The student protests have gained broad public sympathy amid widespread dissatisfaction in France. Concerns range from soaring fuel prices linked to the Iran war to wider frustrations over limits on public spending, increasing poverty and wealth inequality under Macron, who cannot seek a third consecutive term. Against this backdrop, students' complaints that inadequate education funding is putting their futures at risk have resonated with many people. "You say 'young people are the future,' so listen to them," read a handwritten placard tied to a metal barrier outside a Paris school. Ministry opens portal for student complaints At Hélène Boucher high school in Paris' 20th district, protesters overturned trash cans and bicycles to form a makeshift barricade. The school was among hundreds across France that remained closed. Authorities began closing schools last week in an effort to ease tensions following widespread damage to school property and rising injuries among students, staff and police. According to the Education Ministry, classes were fully or partially suspended at 891 schools Tuesday. Amid criticism that it was failing to address the protesters' concerns, the ministry launched an online portal allowing high school students to anonymously report problems they face at school and suggest changes they want to see.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced Tuesday that the government plans to introduce a wealth tax from Jan. 1, 2027. The tax will be 1 percent on wealth exceeding 1 billion Hungarian forints (3.1 million U.S. dollars) and 1.5 percent on wealth exceeding 100 billion forints (310 million dollars), Magyar said in a Facebook video. It will cover property, investments and company stakes, including assets held abroad or through asset-management structures, he added. Debts will be deductible from the tax base, while property and vehicle taxes can be credited against the liability. The first annual self-assessed payment will be due by Aug. 31, 2027, based on assets held at the end of 2026, Magyar said. The proposed measure will undergo broad public consultation before being adopted.

Former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service August Hanning was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of passing state secrets to a foreign intelligence service, the federal prosecutor’s office said. Hanning, 80, who headed the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005, is strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason and espionage, prosecutors said. He was arrested in Bad Toelz-Wolfratshausen in southern Germany. A former aide, identified as Manfred D., was also arrested in Steinfurt in western Germany and charged with aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage. Federal prosecutor’s office spokesperson Ines Peterson told German broadcaster RTL that Hanning is suspected in one instance of using classified information to prepare an analysis for an employee of a foreign intelligence service. In another case, he allegedly passed on information following an extensive exchange with an employee of another intelligence service. Authorities did not disclose which foreign intelligence services the two men allegedly worked with or which countries were involved. Properties belonging to both suspects were searched Tuesday. Prosecutors said Manfred D. served as Hanning’s chief of staff and later held the same position for several BND presidents between 2012 and 2026. His position gave him access to confidential information. According to prosecutors, the two men allegedly agreed in 2010 that Manfred D. would continuously provide Hanning with valuable BND intelligence in return for payment. Investigators believe Manfred D. supplied Hanning with about 2,000 documents over the years, many of which contained classified information intended solely for internal BND use, particularly executive intelligence briefings. Peterson said Hanning used the information for private consulting work, while Manfred D. continued providing classified material until June 2022. The investigation leading to Tuesday’s arrests emerged from a separate probe into the January 2024 abduction of the children of Hamburg businesswoman Christina Block from their father in Denmark amid a long-running custody dispute. Evidence uncovered during a search of Hanning’s home in connection with that case led to the current proceedings, prosecutors said. Hanning and a retired official of the Hamburg State Criminal Police Office were suspected of accepting a contract from Block in 2022 to abduct her children while working as executives of a security company, German news agency dpa reported, citing prosecutors’ announcement in late 2025. The Block family is prominent in Hamburg and is best known for the nationwide Block House steakhouse chain. The custody dispute has drawn considerable media attention in Germany. A request for comment from the BND was not immediately answered. Konstantin von Notz, a lawmaker from the opposition Greens party and a member of the parliamentary committee overseeing Germany’s intelligence services, called for a swift investigation. He described the allegations against Hanning as “hard-hitting and deeply troubling” and said authorities should conduct a thorough probe. Von Notz also renewed calls for restrictions on former senior officials with high-level security clearances taking up private consulting work after leaving government service.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Spain on Saturday demanding affordable housing and greater protection for renters, a day after parliament rejected emergency measures proposed to address the country's housing crisis. Large crowds marched in Madrid, where protesters called for a general strike and affordable housing. In Valencia, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets after demonstrators broke through a security perimeter around the City of Arts and Sciences, where a real estate summit was taking place. Images showed clashes between police and protesters, with officers using batons and demonstrators throwing barriers. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The protests intensified after the eviction of 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal, known as Maricarmen, from her Madrid home of seven decades on Sept. 23. About 1,000 protesters have camped for the past week at Madrid's Puerta del Sol, demanding government action to protect tenants. A similar camp has been set up at Barcelona's Plaza Catalunya. Abascal, who uses a wheelchair, was carried from her apartment on a stretcher after police cordoned off the street. Images of the eviction triggered protests across the country. “I haven’t managed to defend my home, but I have fought so that others can learn to fight for what’s theirs,” Abascal said in a video recorded from a hospital bed. The real estate company seeking to evict her so it could rent the property at a higher price later reached an agreement allowing her to return, according to her lawyer. Abascal was “happy,” the lawyer said, although she has not yet been discharged from hospital. The incident has become a symbol of Spain's housing affordability crisis, with protesters carrying signs reading “Not even one more Maricarmen!” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's progressive government had proposed measures to restrict evictions, curb property speculation and give renters indefinite leases. But conservative opposition parties joined forces in parliament on Friday to reject the measures. The defeat has increased pressure on Sánchez, who faces a national election next year, and fueled speculation that he could call an early election to rally left-wing voters around the housing issue. Spain's housing shortage has been worsening for years, particularly affecting young people and low-income households who cannot afford to buy homes and face a limited rental market. Average rents have nearly doubled over the past decade, with the average price rising from 8.20 euros per square meter in 2016 to 15.10 euros this year, according to real estate website Idealista. The government says 26 percent of Spaniards who rent spend an average of 40 percent of their income on rent and utilities, compared with 18 percent across the European Union. Spain also has one of the smallest stocks of government-owned rental housing among OECD countries, accounting for less than 2 percent of available homes, compared with an EU average of 8 percent. Housing protests have periodically taken place in major Spanish cities, with demonstrators blaming property speculation and tourist rental platforms such as Airbnb for driving up rents. The latest demonstrations have given the issue renewed momentum, with protesters saying Maricarmen's case shows the need for stronger tenant protections.

Romanian lawmakers on Wednesday rejected a proposed center-right Cabinet led by designated Prime Minister Siegfried Muresan, prolonging the country’s political crisis and raising the possibility of early elections. The proposed government received 182 votes in favour and 15 against, falling well short of the 233 votes needed for parliamentary approval. Muresan, 45, had proposed a reform-focused government led by his National Liberal Party (PNL), with support from the Save Romania Union (USR) and the ethnic Hungarian UDMR. The political crisis has gripped Romania since May, when Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan’s government was ousted in a no-confidence vote jointly filed by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR). Both parties had said they would not back Muresan’s Cabinet. President Nicusor Dan has warned that early elections would prolong instability and urged political parties to resolve the crisis. Under Romania’s constitution, the president can dissolve Parliament if lawmakers reject two Cabinet proposals within 60 days of the first rejection. The next parliamentary election is scheduled for 2028. The latest political uncertainty comes as Romania, a NATO and EU member, faces security concerns including increased drone incursions linked to Russia’s war in neighbouring Ukraine. Muresan has said early elections could become necessary if the deadlock continues, arguing that a fresh mandate would be preferable to prolonged political uncertainty. Political consultant Cristian Andrei said the next prime ministerial nomination could potentially shift Romania’s pro-European political orientation toward right-wing populism, depending on which parties form the next government.