United News of Bangladesh

A humpback whale that had captured public attention across Germany likely survived only about five days after a controversial rescue operation failed to return it safely to the Atlantic Ocean, officials said Friday. The whale, widely nicknamed “Timmy” and “Hope” by German media, was found dead on May 14 near the small Danish island of Anholt in the Kattegat strait between Denmark and Sweden, which links the Baltic Sea to the North Sea. Its discovery brought an end to months of intense debate and rescue efforts. The final attempt took place on May 2, when the animal was moved on a barge in hopes of guiding it back to deeper waters. Scientists, authorities, and animal welfare advocates were divided over whether continued intervention was humane or whether the sick and weakened whale should be left alone. Tracking data from a transmitter attached to the whale’s dorsal fin suggests it died around May 6 or 7, according to Till Backhaus. Officials said the whale had travelled about 215 kilometres over those days but was moving in the wrong direction, back toward the Baltic Sea instead of toward the Atlantic Ocean. After that, it likely drifted or the tracking signal was lost. The whale was first spotted off the German coast on March 3, sparking widespread media attention, live updates, and public concern over its condition. Experts are still unsure why the whale entered the Baltic Sea, a region unsuitable for its survival. Some believe it may have become disoriented while following fish or during migration. An autopsy has not confirmed the exact cause of death, but officials said no serious injuries, foreign objects, or signs of violence were found. Authorities also confirmed the whale was female, correcting earlier assumptions that it was male. Some of the remains will be processed into biodiesel in Denmark, while parts of the skeleton will be preserved in a Danish museum, according to reports.

Eight people were killed in two separate road accidents that occurred within a short span of time on a highway in western Hungary early Friday, police said. The first accident took place around 4:30 am near the city of Győr when a truck collided with a road construction vehicle and caught fire. One person was killed in the crash, which also caused major traffic disruption on the highway. About 30 minutes later, a minibus carrying Moldovan registration plates crashed into a truck that had stopped on the highway following the earlier accident. Seven people died in the second collision, while two others suffered serious injuries, according to police. Following the accidents, authorities shut down one lane of the M1 motorway heading toward Austria. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar expressed sympathy to the families of those who lost their lives.

Chinese authorities have detained an American scholar known for his research on Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy on suspicion of espionage, China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the scholar, Min Zin, is suspected of “engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security.” The arrest is unusual, as China rarely detains US citizens on national security-related accusations. The development comes about a month after US President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing as both countries sought to improve strained bilateral ties. According to a Myanmar activist familiar with the matter, Min Zin went missing on June 3 after travelling to Kunming in China’s Yunnan Province to attend a conference. The activist, who requested anonymity due to concerns about possible repercussions, said Min Zin had visited China several times in the past. Min Zin was involved in Myanmar’s 1988 pro-democracy student movement, which was violently suppressed by the then military-backed government. He later received asylum in the United States. The activist said Min Zin is not currently involved in direct political activism. He is the founder of ISP Myanmar, a think tank that has published research on Chinese foreign policy and economic engagement with Myanmar, including studies on Myanmar’s rare earth exports to China. The organisation has also maintained regular exchanges with Chinese research institutions. Min Zin is currently pursuing a PhD at University of California, Berkeley.

South Korea’s ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol and his former defense minister were sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday in a case alleging Yoon ordered drone flights over Pyongyang in 2024 to heighten tensions with North Korea and justify declaring martial law at home. The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon and his ex-defense minister, Kim Yong Hyun, guilty of aiding an adversary and abusing their power, saying they sought to provoke North Korea into launching armed attacks or other serious provocations against South Korea to manufacture a national emergency. It said the moves harmed South Korea’s military interests by exposing its capabilities, undermining its ability to conduct future operations and prompting North Korea to strengthen its defense posture. The same court earlier sentenced Yoon to life in prison for a rebellion conviction over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024. North Korea accused Seoul of flying drones over Pyongyang to drop propaganda leaflets three times in October 2024. Kim, who was South Korea’s defense minister at the time, issued a vague denial before the Defense Ministry said it could neither confirm nor deny the allegations. Tensions rose sharply but did not lead to any military clashes. Yoon’s lawyers criticized the latest ruling, saying the drone flights were a response to North Korea flying thousands of trash-carrying balloons into the South earlier in 2024. They argued that a guilty verdict would undermine South Korea's security interests but did not immediately say whether they would appeal. Investigators led by special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk had sought a 30-year prison term for Yoon, accusing him of trying to create a warlike situation between the Koreas while plotting an authoritarian push to remove his political opponents and “monopolize” power. They had sought a 25-year prison term for Kim Yong Hyun, a key confidant of Yoon who helped plan and mobilize forces for Yoon’s martial law declaration. Yoon proceeded with the declaration late in the night of Dec. 3, 2024, delivering a televised address in which he accused liberal lawmakers of being North Korea-sympathizing “anti-state” forces. He cited a range of grievances, but particularly the opposition’s impeachments of senior officials and cuts to his government’s budget bill. Martial law lasted about six hours until lawmakers broke through a blockade of soldiers and police at the National Assembly and voted to overturn it, forcing Yoon’s Cabinet to lift the measure. Yoon was quickly suspended from office, impeached and formally removed by the Constitutional Court. He was arrested in July 2025 and several criminal trial are ongoing. The verdict in the most serious case, of rebellion, has been appealed both by Yoon and prosecutors, who had sought a death sentence.

Iran retaliated against U.S. air and cruise missile strikes as hostilities escalated Thursday with attacks against Kuwait and Bahrain in renewed fighting after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations. The exchange came shortly after the U.S. launched a second round of airstrikes overnight Thursday. Bahrain is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. The new assault across multiple Iranian cities came as efforts to negotiate an end the war appeared to have stalled, with Iran insisting it would maintain its grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Talks have also faltered because of Israel’s attacks against the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. On Monday, Iran and Israel targeted each other. In a first exchange of missile fire from Iran and airstrikes by the U.S. on Wednesday, Iranian missiles were launched at missiles at Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. Those came in the wake of American strikes in reprisal for the shooting down of a U.S. helicopter in the strait. The U.S. Central Command said it completed its latest round of airstrikes just before the sun rose Thursday in Iran. It said the strikes targeted military surveillance, communications and air defense sites and were carried out by the U.S. Air Force, Marines and Navy. It did not elaborate on the damage done by the strikes. Explosions from the strikes echoed around Iran’s capital, Tehran, as well as in the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the strait. Iran’s says US attacks have rendered ceasefire meaningless Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement Thursday saying the U.S. attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire ... meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it.

An Indian official says three Indian mariners were killed on board a tanker targeted by the U.S. military over allegedly violating America’s blockade on Iran. Indian Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced the three mariners’ killing on X in the attack on the Palau-flagged tanker Settebello. “Sadly, three Indian seafarers initially reported missing are now confirmed dead after two bodies were recovered,” he wrote. It wasn’t clear where the third body was. The U.S. military’s Central Command had accused the Settebello of having “violated the ongoing blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran.” It fired into the ship’s engine room to stop it.  

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he had called off new military strikes on Iran, claiming a breakthrough in negotiations to end the war just hours after the American leader threatened to escalate the conflict by seizing control of Iran’s oil industry. Trump has said multiple times in recent weeks that the warring parties have been on the cusp of a deal without anything coming to fruition. A spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a live phone call on state television that mediators were active and nothing had been finalized to end the conflict that began Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel jointly attacked Iran. Trump opened an Oval Office event Thursday afternoon saying: “We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran.” He offered scant details, other than to say he expects an agreement to extend a fragile ceasefire that started in April to be finalized “over the next few days.” Extending the terms of the ceasefire gives U.S. leaders more time to negotiate over Iran’s nuclear program, the main reason Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used to justify launching the war. Netanyahu’s office said Thursday that Israel is not a party to the emerging agreement between the U.S. and Iran. The announcement came after two days of back-and-forth attacks between the U.S. and Iran had pushed the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war. Trump had threatened further escalation earlier Thursday, posting on social media that the U.S. would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and take “total control” of its oil and gas industries. A few hours later, Trump posted on social media that significant points in the negotiations “have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.” Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said in his phone call on state television that text of a deal is “mostly finalized.” “The problem is that the contradictions in America’s position has caused turbulence to this process,” he said Thursday night. A major sticking point in negotiations has been Iran’s nuclear program, which the U.S. and Israel fear could lead to an atomic weapon, but which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes. Another key issue is Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane for transporting oil and natural gas. Trump again moves quickly from threats to negotiating Trump’s rapid shift Thursday from dire threats to promoting peace negotiations again underscored his whipsaw approach to the war. He suggested on Monday that a deal to end the conflict could be reached in a matter of days. Then back-and-forth strikes rattled the Middle East this week. The first involved attacks between Iran and Israel, followed by the two rounds of fire between the U.S. and Iran, which targeted countries where U.S. troops are based. The U.S. strikes began after Trump blamed Iran for downing an American attack helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Both pilots were rescued safely. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the U.S. attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire ... meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it. After Trump threatened more attacks were to come on Thursday, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, responded on social media that “wrong strategies and impulsive decisions” would wreak havoc on energy markets and “create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years.” It wasn’t the first time Trump threatened escalation before giving negotiations another chance. In April, he warned Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if it didn’t agree to his terms, before extending a ceasefire.

At least 15 people were killed and dozens injured after Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched overnight drone strikes in the central city of el-Obeid, health officials said on Thursday, amid an escalation in the use of unmanned aircraft in the country’s protracted conflict. The attacks, which began late Wednesday, targeted several locations across el-Obeid, including areas near an army position, according to officials at el-Obeid Hospital. More than 10 others were injured, some of them critically. Mohamed Elsheikh, spokesperson for the Sudan Doctors Network, said RSF drones also struck a funeral gathering at a cemetery, killing four people, and hit a gas station. It was not immediately clear whether the victims were civilians, combatants or both. An aid worker with Mercy Corps said drone attacks have intensified across el-Obeid in recent days, targeting public gatherings and disrupting daily life. Schools have suspended classes and markets are operating only partially due to security concerns, the aid worker said. Emergency Lawyers, a local monitoring group, warned that the death toll could rise as drones continued flying over the city. The group said residential homes near the military headquarters of the 5th Infantry Division were hit, along with a truck carrying food supplies into the city. The truck driver was killed in the attack. The group described the strikes as part of a broader pattern of attacks on civilian neighbourhoods, gatherings and infrastructure, including during rescue efforts and funeral ceremonies, raising concerns about their indiscriminate nature. Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF. The war has since killed at least 59,000 people, displaced around 13 million and pushed large parts of the country into famine, with more than 30 million people requiring humanitarian assistance. Now in its fourth year, the conflict has left the military in control of much of northern, eastern and central Sudan, while the RSF and allied groups dominate most of Darfur and parts of Kordofan, regions rich in oil and gold resources. Analysts and humanitarian workers say drone warfare has emerged as one of the deadliest threats to civilians in Sudan, with both sides reportedly receiving military support from regional and international actors. A recent surge in drone attacks in Kordofan has also complicated humanitarian relief efforts in the area.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States would launch a major attack on Iran later in the day and signaled plans to take control of key Iranian oil and gas infrastructure, including Kharg Island. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the US would hit Iran “very hard tonight,” while claiming that Iran’s naval, air and air defense capabilities, along with much of its offensive military capacity, had already been eliminated.  Three Indian seafarers killed in U.S. attack near Oman Trump also said that the United States would, in the near future, take control of Kharg Island and other strategic energy facilities and assume control of Iran’s oil and gas markets. He compared the proposed move to what he described as US involvement in Venezuela’s energy sector.  The remarks marked a further escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran amid continuing hostilities and ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a ceasefire and reviving negotiations.  With inputs from  Al Jazeera

Three Indian seafarers who had been reported missing following a US attack on a commercial vessel off the coast of Oman have been confirmed dead, India's Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said on Thursday. According to India's Ministry of External Affairs, the vessel was carrying 24 Indian crew members when it came under attack on Wednesday. US launches second consecutive day of strikes on Iran as Tehran retaliates against Gulf states and Jordan India condemned the attack the same day, describing assaults on shipping in the region as "deeply worrisome" and attributing them to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. In a statement, the foreign ministry called for the "immediate de-escalation of tensions" and urged an end to "the targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region." Media reports said India also lodged a demarche with the top US diplomat in New Delhi over the incident.