United News of Bangladesh

In a quiet warehouse in northern Denmark, workers are assembling anti-drone devices now being used on the Ukrainian battlefield and across Europe to counter a growing wave of mysterious drone incursions into NATO airspace. Two Danish defence companies — Weibel Scientific and MyDefence — have seen soaring demand for their technology, as governments and security agencies rush to protect airports, military bases, and other sensitive sites targeted by drone flyovers in recent weeks. Weibel Scientific’s radar-based drone detection system was deployed at Copenhagen Airport ahead of a key EU summit earlier this year, when unidentified drones forced the closure of Danish airspace for several hours. MyDefence, meanwhile, produces handheld and wearable radio-frequency devices capable of severing the connection between drones and their pilots. While such “jamming” technology is tightly restricted within the European Union, it is widely used on Ukraine’s front lines. There, both Russia and Ukraine have intensified electronic warfare to disable each other’s drones — prompting the use of fiber-optic-tethered models that can’t be jammed by radio interference. Europe’s concern has deepened since September, when a surge of drone flyovers across NATO territory prompted EU leaders to propose building a continent-wide “drone wall” for surveillance and interception. NATO has since deployed a new U.S.-made anti-drone system, Merops, along its eastern flank, where Denmark, Poland and Romania are among the first to implement it. Experts say the drone incursions may be testing NATO’s readiness. “All countries in Europe are struggling to find the right solutions to detect drones and build early warning systems,” said Andreas Graae, assistant professor at the Royal Danish Defense College. Founded in 2013, MyDefence has delivered more than 2,000 of its “Wingman” detectors to Ukraine since the war began and doubled its revenue last year to nearly $19 million. Its CEO, Dan Hermansen, said the Russia-Ukraine conflict was a “turning point” for the company. North of Copenhagen, Weibel Scientific has been adapting its long-established Doppler radar technology — once used for aerospace tracking — to detect drones by measuring their velocity and direction. The firm recently secured its largest-ever order worth $76 million. “The Ukraine war, and especially the rapid evolution of drone technology, has driven unprecedented demand for this kind of product,” said Weibel’s chief executive Peter Røpke. With NATO nations reinforcing their defences and discussing a potential “drone shield” across Europe, Røpke said Denmark’s radar systems could play a vital role in securing the alliance’s skies.  

A senior British government minister on Wednesday denied allegations that he is planning to oust Prime Minister Keir Starmer, amid growing concern within the Labour Party over poor poll results less than 18 months after its landslide election victory. Health Secretary Wes Streeting described rumours of a leadership challenge from Labour officials and lawmakers as “self-defeating and self-destructive.” He spoke after aides to the prime minister told the media that Starmer would resist any attempts to unseat him. “It’s totally self-defeating briefing, not least because it’s not true,” Streeting told Sky News, adding that the reports were likely inspired by reality TV, referring to the show Celebrity Traitors. At 42, Streeting is considered one of the government’s most effective communicators and is seen as a potential future party leader. In the House of Commons, Starmer dismissed claims by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch of a “toxic culture in Downing Street” and a government embroiled in “civil war.” “This is a united team,” he said, noting that Streeting and his Cabinet colleagues are “doing a great job.” Although a leadership challenge this early in a five-year term would be unusual, Labour MPs are anxious over polls showing the party trailing the hard-right Reform UK led by Nigel Farage, though still ahead of the Conservative Party. Concerns are also mounting ahead of the annual budget statement on Nov. 26, expected to include income tax increases that could break election pledges. Since taking office in July 2024, Starmer’s government has struggled with sluggish economic growth, strained public services, and high living costs. Recent figures show unemployment rising to 5% for the three months to September, the highest since 2016 outside of the pandemic period. Under Labour rules, a leadership challenge requires support from 20% of MPs, currently 81 members. Britain’s parliamentary system allows a governing party to change its prime minister without holding an early election, though unelected leaders often face pressure to seek a fresh mandate. Between the last two national elections in December 2019 and July 2024, the UK had three Conservative prime ministers – Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak.  

A Turkish military cargo aircraft carrying 20 people crashed in Georgia near the border with Azerbaijan on Tuesday, Turkish and Georgian authorities confirmed, though there was no immediate word on casualties. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, along with officials from Georgia and Azerbaijan, suggested that several of those on board may have been killed, but details were not immediately released. Footage broadcast by Turkish media appeared to show the C-130 aircraft spiraling toward the ground while trailing white smoke. According to Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense, the plane had departed from Azerbaijan and was returning to Turkey when it went down. The ministry said all 20 individuals on board were military personnel, including crew members. Georgian Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said rescue teams reached the crash site around 5 p.m. local time and that search and rescue efforts were continuing. Georgia’s Interior Ministry said the plane crashed in the Sighnaghi municipality, close to the Azerbaijani border, and that an investigation has been launched. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Georgian aviation authorities as saying that contact with the aircraft was lost shortly after it entered Georgian airspace. The plane reportedly did not send a distress signal before the crash. Turkey has deployed an unmanned aerial vehicle to assist the search operation, while an accident investigation team was being sent to Georgia, private broadcaster NTV reported. President Erdogan said he was “deeply saddened” by the incident and extended condolences to the families of those he described as “martyrs.” “God willing, we will overcome this tragedy with the least possible loss,” he said. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili also expressed condolences to their Turkish counterparts. “We are deeply shocked by the loss of our Turkish brothers in this tragic accident on Georgian soil,” Aliyev said, according to Anadolu Agency. The C-130 aircraft is widely used by Turkey’s armed forces for troop transport and logistical operations. Turkey and Azerbaijan maintain close military cooperation, and Erdogan had attended Azerbaijan’s Victory Day celebrations in Baku on November 8, marking the country’s military triumph in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.   Source: AP

Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear energy company, Energoatom, said Tuesday that its operations remain unaffected amid a major corruption investigation in the country’s power sector involving alleged kickbacks of around $100 million. Energoatom, which supplies more than half of Ukraine’s electricity, assured in a statement that production and operational safety have not been disrupted by the probe conducted by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. The agency recently released details of a 15-month investigation into suspected corruption in the energy sector, including at Energoatom. Large inflows of Ukrainian and foreign funds have been directed to the energy sector as infrastructure continues to be repaired following repeated Russian aerial attacks. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry reported that Russian strikes targeted facilities in the Kharkiv, Odesa, and Donetsk regions overnight, prompting scheduled power outages across much of the country. The Anti-Corruption Bureau focuses on high-level graft, particularly involving senior officials and state-owned enterprises, which is widely seen as a barrier to Ukraine’s European Union membership ambitions. Previous investigations uncovered schemes including inflated military procurement contracts and embezzlement of funds intended for mortar shells in Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the probe, saying, “Any effective action against corruption is an urgent need,” and called on officials to cooperate with investigators. He has faced public criticism over corruption issues and last month reversed a law that would have reduced the independence of Ukraine’s anti-graft agencies following street protests and EU pressure. Investigators allege that some of Energoatom’s suppliers were required to pay bribes of 10% to 15% of contract values, and that high-ranking officials manipulated personnel, procurement, and finances to maintain control over the kickback scheme. Meanwhile, Russia’s FSB claimed Tuesday it had foiled a Ukrainian intelligence plot to recruit Russian pilots and hijack a MiG-31 fighter jet carrying a hypersonic Kinzhal missile. Ukrainian officials did not comment immediately. Ukraine’s General Staff reported overnight attacks on Russia’s Saratov oil refinery and an oil terminal in the port of Feodosia in occupied Crimea, causing “massive fires” and targeting facilities supplying fuel to southern Ukraine and the peninsula.  

Romanian authorities have recovered drone fragments in an inhabited area near the country’s southeastern border following overnight Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports along the Danube River, officials said on Tuesday. The Ministry of National Defense said Romanian radars detected groups of drones near the NATO member’s airspace shortly after midnight on Tuesday. Emergency alerts were issued to residents in northern Tulcea County, which lies close to Ukraine’s border. Adverse weather conditions prevented the deployment of fighter jets, the ministry added. However, military teams later located suspected drone debris about five kilometers inside Romanian territory. Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu confirmed the discovery on X (formerly Twitter), saying the fragments landed in a populated area. “These actions are part of a series of similar incidents and represent a characteristic of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression,” she said. “They also reflect Moscow’s continued provocations against the EU and NATO.” Toiu warned that Romania and its allies “will not hesitate to raise the cost Russia pays for such reckless and illegal actions,” adding that new sanctions are being prepared to impose further pressure on Moscow. Drone incursions into Romania’s airspace have grown increasingly frequent in recent months as Russia intensifies attacks on Ukrainian river ports across the Danube. Romanian officials have confirmed that drone fragments recovered in past incidents matched those used by the Russian military. Both Romania and Poland have begun deploying new defense systems to counter Russian drones, amid concerns over repeated airspace breaches that have exposed NATO’s vulnerabilities and heightened tensions across Europe.  

A Paris appeals court on Monday ordered the release of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy from prison, placing him under judicial supervision less than three weeks after he began serving a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy related to illegal campaign financing from Libya. The court ruled that Sarkozy, 70, cannot leave French territory while awaiting his appeal trial, which is expected to take place later. Sarkozy became the first former French head of state in modern times to be imprisoned after being convicted on September 25 for allegedly using funds from the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to finance his 2007 election campaign. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing. During Monday’s hearing, Sarkozy appeared via video link from Paris’ La Santé prison, telling judges that he had “always respected justice” and describing his time behind bars as “very hard.” He also expressed gratitude to prison staff for their support during what he called a “nightmare.” His wife, singer and former model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and two of his sons attended the hearing at the Paris courthouse. Under French law, release is generally granted pending appeal unless judges determine that a convicted person poses a flight risk or could obstruct justice. Advocate General Damien Brunet recommended Sarkozy’s release under judicial supervision, which the court accepted. Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, still faces several other legal battles — including a November 26 ruling by France’s highest court over the illegal financing of his failed 2012 reelection bid and an ongoing investigation into alleged witness tampering in the Libya case. In 2023, Sarkozy was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling for attempting to bribe a magistrate. The Court of Cassation later upheld that verdict.  

Overnight Ukrainian attacks knocked out power and heating in two large Russian cities close to the Ukrainian border, regional officials said Sunday, as both sides continue targeting each other’s energy infrastructure amid stalled peace efforts. A drone strike caused temporary blackouts and disrupted heating in Voronezh, a city of over one million residents, regional Governor Alexander Gusev reported. Several drones were intercepted, but one hit a local utility site, sparking a fire that was quickly extinguished. Telegram channels suggested the strike targeted a thermal power plant. In Belgorod, a missile strike late Saturday inflicted “serious damage” on power and heating systems, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, leaving about 20,000 households without service. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its forces destroyed or intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk and Rostov regions overnight but did not mention the strikes in Voronezh or Belgorod. The attacks come as Moscow and Kyiv continue to exchange daily assaults on energy targets, with Ukraine seeking to cut Russia’s oil revenue through long-range strikes on refineries, while Russia tries to cripple Ukraine’s grid ahead of winter. Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Sunday he was ready to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss ending the nearly four-year war and improving ties. Lavrov told state news agency RIA that peace was impossible without considering “Russian interests,” reiterating Moscow’s refusal to abandon its claim over Crimea, annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The comments follow the Trump administration’s renewed push for a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, though little progress has been made since Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin last met in Alaska in August. While Ukraine has expressed willingness for direct talks under Washington’s mediation, Western officials say Moscow continues using diplomacy to buy time as fighting grinds on.

A Russian drone struck a residential building in eastern Ukraine early Saturday, killing three people and injuring 12 others as part of a widespread missile and drone assault targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, officials said. The overnight barrage hit multiple regions, including Dnipro, where the nine-story building caught fire and several apartments were destroyed, according to emergency services. Two children were among the injured. Another person, an energy worker, was killed in Kharkiv, said regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 458 drones and 45 missiles, including 32 ballistic ones. Ukrainian forces intercepted 406 drones and nine missiles, but 25 locations were hit. Power was cut in several regions to protect the grid, Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk said on Facebook. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted military and energy facilities that support Ukraine’s war effort. Moscow has continued near-daily assaults on energy sites as Kyiv retaliates with long-range drone attacks on Russian oil refineries. Both sides are trying to weaken each other’s energy supplies while U.S.-led peace efforts remain stalled. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said major energy facilities in Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Poltava regions were damaged, adding that teams were working to quickly restore electricity, heating, and water. Meanwhile, Russia said it had repelled a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack overnight on the Volgograd region, where power outages occurred but no injuries were reported. Two people were injured in Saratov after a Ukrainian drone blew out windows in an apartment block, local officials said. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to stop Russian oil exports to Europe, following weeks of Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy targets. “We will find a way to ensure there is no Russian oil in Europe,” he said. His remarks came after Hungary received an exemption from new U.S. sanctions on Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil. While most EU countries have sharply reduced Russian energy imports since the 2022 invasion, Hungary and Slovakia continue to receive oil via pipeline. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, insists his country has no alternative supply sources. Meanwhile, fighting around the eastern city of Pokrovsk has intensified, with both Kyiv and Moscow seeking to show progress ahead of renewed diplomatic efforts. Russia claims its troops have surrounded Pokrovsk and nearby Myrnohrad, and also encircled Ukrainian forces near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region. Ukrainian officials acknowledged that the situation in Pokrovsk remains critical but denied claims of encirclement, saying battles are ongoing. Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains that his troops are close to victory and insists that Ukraine must surrender the Donbas region, including Donetsk and Luhansk, as a condition for peace.  

A Russian drone struck a tower block in eastern Ukraine early Saturday, killing three people and injuring 12, Ukrainian authorities reported. The attack hit a nine-story building in Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, while many residents were asleep. The building caught fire, destroying several apartments, and rescuers recovered the bodies of three victims, including two children among the injured, local emergency services said. The strike was part of a large-scale Russian missile and drone assault across Ukraine targeting energy infrastructure. Ukrainian forces said Russia launched 458 drones and 45 missiles, including 32 ballistic missiles, while Kyiv’s air defenses intercepted 406 drones and nine missiles. At least 25 locations were hit. Ukrainian Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk said power was cut in several regions due to the attacks. Almost four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Kyiv continues to face near-daily strikes, which have killed and injured many civilians. The Kremlin maintains that its attacks target military and energy facilities supporting Ukraine’s war effort. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that its forces shot down 82 Ukrainian drones during the night, including eight over Volgograd. Two people were injured in Saratov after a Ukrainian drone damaged an apartment block, officials said. Fighting in eastern Ukraine around the strategic city of Pokrovsk has intensified, as both Kyiv and Moscow seek to demonstrate battlefield strength, analysts say. Pokrovsk lies along the eastern front in the “fortress belt” of Donetsk, a heavily fortified line vital for Ukraine’s defense. Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed his forces are nearing victory, demanding Ukraine cede the Donbas region—comprising Donetsk and Luhansk—as a precondition for peace. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to reduce Moscow’s oil revenue, while Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy sites seek to deprive civilians of heat, electricity, and water in what Kyiv calls a “weaponized winter” strategy.    

The recent theft of France’s crown jewels from the Louvre has revived questions about the colonial origins of many museum treasures. While the jewels were crafted in France, their gems came from far-flung regions tied to imperial exploitation, including sapphires from Sri Lanka, diamonds from India and Brazil, pearls from the Persian Gulf, and emeralds from Colombia. Experts say the heist has intensified calls for museums to be more transparent about their collections. “Many of these objects are entangled with violent, exploitative, colonial histories,” said criminologist Emiline C.H. Smith. Legal ownership under colonial-era rules does not erase the ethical questions about how these items were acquired. The stolen pieces, including tiaras and necklaces of 19th-century queens like Marie-Amélie and Empress Eugénie, were crafted by French artisans, but the raw materials moved through imperial trade networks built on wealth extraction and forced labor. Historian Pascal Blanchard notes that while French craftsmen made the jewels, the stones themselves were “products of colonial production.” The controversy echoes other restitution debates, such as India’s ongoing demand for the Koh-i-Noor diamond, and campaigns by Greece and Egypt to recover the Parthenon Marbles, the Rosetta Stone, and the Nefertiti bust. French law allows restitution only through specific parliamentary exceptions, which critics say limits the return of colonial-era treasures. Art scholars argue that museums should provide fuller context on such artifacts. “Tell the honest and complete story,” said Dutch restitution specialist Jos van Beurden. This includes explaining where the materials came from, how they were traded, and who benefited, even if it complicates the museum narrative. The theft has shone a spotlight not only on museum security but also on the ethical responsibility to acknowledge the colonial histories behind prized treasures, prompting calls for transparency and restitution across Europe’s leading institutions.