United News of Bangladesh

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday visited the earthquake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan as residents began clearing debris from damaged homes while facing scorching temperatures and ongoing water shortages. The magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu last Tuesday, killing 38 people, according to prefectural officials. Among the victims was a person who apparently died from heat stroke while sheltering inside a car. Authorities are still investigating the cause of another death. Residents placed piles of rubble, broken furniture and damaged household appliances outside their homes for collection. Construction of temporary housing also began in the towns of Uki and Hikawa for people displaced by the disaster. More than 46,000 households were still without running water on Monday, while many communities were also experiencing fuel shortages. The Japan Meteorological Agency forecast temperatures to approach 40 degrees Celsius, raising concerns over heat-related illnesses. More than 8,500 people remained in emergency shelters, including community centres, school gymnasiums and classrooms, many of which lack air conditioning. Others continued to stay in cars parked near town halls and parks or outside their damaged homes. Disaster experts have long warned that overcrowded shelters with limited sanitation and privacy can make conditions more difficult for displaced people. During her visit, Takaichi toured one of the area's better-equipped shelters, which had cardboard beds, partitions and air conditioning. However, the visit drew criticism on social media, with some users saying it did not reflect the conditions in most evacuation centres. Meanwhile, a local retailer acknowledged that it had instructed two employees, who later died in an explosion at a collapsed shopping mall, to return to the building to secure the day's sales proceeds. Executives of Habita, which operated a store inside the collapsed Aeon Mall in Kashima, attended the funeral wake of 22-year-old employee Kurumi Otake on Sunday and apologised to her family. Company sales manager Goji Yuse admitted the employees had been asked to return to the store if it was safe to place the money in a secure safe. "My daughter is not coming back," Otake's mother told company officials through tears. The mall operator believes the explosion was caused by a gas leak after about 3,000 shoppers had already been evacuated following the earthquake, though some employees remained inside the building. Rescue teams pulled five survivors from the rubble and recovered the bodies of seven others. Authorities said the earthquake injured 114 people, destroyed around 700 homes and damaged more than 11,300 buildings across Kumamoto Prefecture.

Ukrainian drone attacks killed at least five people in different parts of Russia and set fire to another warehouse belonging to Russia's largest online retailer, Wildberries, Russian officials said on Sunday, as both countries continued exchanging long-range drone strikes. Russian authorities said a Ukrainian drone hit a Wildberries warehouse in the Samara region, about 800 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, causing a fire. Regional Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said there were no casualties. Wildberries, often compared to Amazon in Russia, has come under repeated Ukrainian attacks in recent weeks. Since mid-July, Ukrainian drones have struck more than a dozen of the company's warehouses as Kyiv seeks to disrupt Russia's economy and logistics during the ongoing war. Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defence systems shot down 635 Ukrainian drones overnight, including some over Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas. The ministry did not say how many drones Ukraine had launched or how many reached their targets. Ukraine's air force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 133 drones overnight, with 24 reaching their intended targets. In Russia's Saratov region, Governor Roman Busargin said two people were killed after a Ukrainian drone hit a residential building. The attack also damaged civilian infrastructure in the cities of Engels and Saratov. Engels is home to a major Russian military airbase, while Saratov has one of the country's large oil refineries. Both cities have been frequent targets of Ukrainian drone attacks. In Russia's Bashkortostan region, Governor Radiy Khabirov said air defences repelled a large-scale drone attack on industrial facilities in the city of Ufa. He said a fire broke out but did not specify which facility had been hit. In the Udmurt Republic, acting regional head Olga Abramova said three civilians were killed and two others injured in a Ukrainian drone strike. She said Russian air defences shot down two drones but a civilian vehicle was damaged during the attack. Meanwhile, Russian strikes also caused casualties in Ukraine. Authorities in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia said a Russian guided bomb hit a residential building, killing one person. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, another Russian attack killed one person and set a postal terminal on fire, according to regional officials. The latest attacks came as both Russia and Ukraine continued to intensify long-range drone and missile strikes deep inside each other's territory.

Esther Lutula stopped going for prenatal checkups shortly after the current Ebola outbreak was declared in eastern Congo. Midway into her pregnancy, the 26-year-old feared being put into isolation simply for having a fever, a common misconception. “That’s why I’m waiting until the disease is no longer widespread,” she told The Associated Press from her home in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province and epicenter of the outbreak declared on May 15. But that could be a deadly mistake. Maternal mortality across Ituri soon doubled as news of the outbreak spread, with an average of about six women dying per week due to childbirth complication, according to Noemi Dalmonte, deputy country representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Congo. While there was an average of 3.1 maternal deaths weekly this year before the outbreak, that jumped to 5.8 deaths from May 25 to July 19. Among those, the deaths outside health centers have also jumped from 9.1% to 17.4% within the same period, UNFPA data shows. As Congo battles the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, with more than 1,600 confirmed deaths, health and aid workers are warning of a shadow crisis as pregnant women avoid hospitals and the country's already high maternal mortality rate climbs even more. While it’s common for Africans to avoid health centers during public health emergencies because of safety concerns, “with Ebola, it is stronger because Ebola has a lot of rumors," Dalmonte said in an interview. With some wary residents questioning whether Ebola even exists, and health workers in one of Congo’s most remote and volatile regions struggling to respond to the outbreak with few supplies, pregnant women have less care than ever. Congo is one of the world's most dangerous places to give birthCongo's has among the world's highest rates of both childbirths per woman and deaths around childbirth. Women in the vast central African nation have almost six children on average. At least 19,000 women died from pregnancy complications in Congo in 2023, according to the latest U.N. data, tied with India and second only to Nigeria globally. Now health workers in Ituri say they are seeing a decline in hospital visits as people worry about the risk of infection. This type of Ebola has no approved treatment or vaccine. Women in need of care also fear being caught up in violence. Ebola treatment centers have been attacked by residents fueled by misinformation or anger over strict outbreak measures. At the Bénédicte Clinic in Bunia, the number of women registered for prenatal care has dropped from 60 each month to around 10, said Dr. Sonny Mwembo, the medical director. Even now, weeks into efforts to battle misinformation, some residents hold mistaken views of the outbreak. “Right now, if you feel sick and go to the hospital, they say it’s Ebola and they put you in quarantine right away. That’s what scares people,” said Elodie Yabiri, a Bunia resident who is heavily pregnant. Yabiri said she’s avoiding hospitals as much as she can. As long as she still feels her unborn child moving, she believes everything is still okay. Limited health care pivots to Ebola instead The outbreak has strained Congo’s already overstretched healthcare system, complicating access for the pregnant women who still come for prenatal care or birth. Health facilities in the five affected provinces are redirecting staff and supplies to the response, reducing access to essential maternal care services, according to aid groups. At least 44 health infected workers have died. Many other health workers have walked off their jobs, protesting the lack of payment. At least 12 attacks have been recorded against health facilities and teams since the outbreak was declared in mid-May. “We are doing everything we can to make the public understand how dangerous this disease is. We are working day and night without being paid,” said Dr. Ghislain Maneba, an epidemiologist and community investigator in Ituri's Rwampara health zone. All women are at higher risk in this outbreak Ebola is rare but highly contagious and severe, often fatal. It spreads in the human population through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen, and with contaminated surfaces and materials such as bedding and clothing. Women are usually the primary caregivers when a loved one becomes ill. Many are among frontline health workers in this outbreak as well. Associated Press journalists covering the outbreak have seen pregnant health workers among the responders. “It is very important that they know how to protect themselves, that they have the right information,” Dalmonte said. Pregnant women with Ebola are at an increased risk of problems including miscarriage, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said in its clinical guidance. Meanwhile, pregnant women who delay care and avoid health facilities “could die not from Ebola itself but because the care that would have saved them was no longer accessible, trusted or safe,” Dalmonte said.

Israel has shared “serious security concerns” with the White House regarding the proposed disarmament deal with Hamas, an Israeli official said as Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday evening killed at least 17 people, including children, in Gaza. The remarks by Doron Spielman, spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, were some of the first public comments since U.S. President Donald Trump announced the agreement. Spielman told The Associated Press that Israel's intelligence assessment is that Hamas remains committed to rebuilding its military rather than genuinely demilitarizing. He said the Israeli military would not withdraw from Gaza — where it controls more than 60% of the territory — before Hamas disarms. “Our assessment is that if we redeploy before Hamas is truly disarmed, it will quickly expand its presence throughout Gaza, rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, once again threaten Israeli communities, and seek to carry out another Oct. 7-style attack,” he said, referring to the Hamas militant attack on Israel in 2023 that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. “Disarming means physically giving up the weapons. Nothing less,” Spielman said. His comments come days after Hamas said that it would begin disarming as part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire signed nine months ago to end the nearly three-year-long conflict. It marks a potential breakthrough in ending the conflict, but many hurdles, conditions and long timelines remain. Hamas says it's agreed to disarm but the process has obstacles Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan calls on the militant group to surrender its weapons and destroy its vast network of tunnels. It also envisions Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza, the arrival of a new technocratic Palestinian government, deployment of an international security force and the rebuilding of the battered Palestinian enclave. Hamas disarming has been a sticking point and has deadlocked negotiations for months. In announcing the deal on social media on Thursday, Trump said it would be carried out in “carefully structured phases.” A copy of the agreement obtained and verified by the AP said that all weapons held by the Hamas-run police will be transferred to the U.S.-backed Palestinian technocratic committee, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, upon its arrival in the enclave. It’s not clear when that would happen since it is contingent on other steps. A process to decommission and store heavy weapons and to dismantle military production sites and tunnels will begin after the arrival of the Palestinian committee and the deployment of international forces. The process will be linked to a phased Israeli withdrawal, according to the agreement. The areas Israel controls in Gaza have been mostly destroyed and depopulated. Most of the territory’s 2 million Palestinians are in the other part, where hundreds of thousands live in squalid tent camps and destroyed neighborhoods. Israel appears unlikely to pull back significant forces or make other concessions ahead of its October elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a tough reelection battle, with his far-right coalition partners urging him to keep up the pressure on Hamas and leave forces in Gaza, and opponents accusing him of failing to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities then, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with a punishing military offensive that has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, which was part of the recently dissolved Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities. Israel warns that Hamas is rearming While Spielman said Israel greatly appreciates Trump’s commitment to its security and to finding a durable resolution, the government's position on disarmament is based on detailed intelligence saying that Hamas continues to rearm, recruit fighters, and rebuild its military capabilities. The White House did not provide additional comments on Sunday, when asked specifically about Israel’s assessment that Hamas remains committed to rebuilding its military. U.S. officials, who briefed reporters on the disarmament agreement last week, said that Israel had been consulted at every step of the negotiations and was not being asked to do anything more than what it had committed to as part of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement signed last October. It's unclear what exactly Israel conveyed to the White House. Two people with knowledge of the deal told the AP that Israel had communicated its issues with it to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who's part of the Trump-led Board of Peace. One of them said that among the points Israel wanted was freedom to conduct military operations in Gaza. They spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak to the media. According to another person familiar with the deal, the Israelis raised two other issues: that Qatar and Turkey not be involved in verifying the stages of the agreement, and that Hamas’ weapons be destroyed after confiscation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Israel continues to strike Gaza Since the ceasefire was signed last October, Israel has continued striking Gaza, saying it’s targeting Hamas and its infrastructure. Local Gaza hospitals said at least 17 were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, including children. A strike on a residential apartment in southern Gaza killed three family members, including their 4-year-old child, according to Nasser hospital, where the bodies arrived. The Israeli military said the strikes had targeted militant operatives.

An Indonesian ferry carrying 271 people caught fire in waters off the main island of Java on Sunday, leaving at least five people dead and dozens missing as rescuers and passing vessels evacuated hundreds from the burning ship, officials said. The Mutiara Sentosa 2 ferry was traveling from Indonesia's second-largest city of Surabaya in East Java to the city of Makassar in South Sulawesi, with 232 passengers, 39 crew members and 181 vehicles, mostly trucks, and an excavator, when the fire broke out between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. in waters off Sumenep regency, according to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, or Basarnas. The ferry operator, PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, reported the incident to the Surabaya search and rescue office about an hour later, Basarnas said in a statement. It said the company received information from the ferry's captain that the vessel was on fire near the northern tip of Madura island, but contact was later lost. By 9:45 a.m., authorities determined the ferry was about 19 nautical miles north of Buruan Sapudi island after communicating with the nearby cargo vessel Meratus Project 3, which was unable to approach the burning vessel closely because it was carrying a flammable load. Footage released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed thick black smoke billowing from one side of the ferry and spreading across much of the ship while videos circulating on social media and messaging groups showed terrified passengers, mostly wearing life jackets, could be seen clustered on the deck and upper sections of the vessel awaiting rescue, some jumping into the sea as orange flames and black smoke billowed from the burning vessel. The ferry was reported to be nearly engulfed by flames, with passengers gathered on the bridge and bow. A tugboat and another passing vessel moved in and began evacuating passengers shortly before 10 a.m., the statement said. By Sunday evening, several nearby vessels managed to rescue 227 passengers and crew and recovered five bodies. At least 39 people remained unaccounted for. The cause of the fire was not immediately known and remained under investigation. Ahmad Abdul Karim, one of the survivors, said the fire appeared to have started from a truck on the lower vehicle deck. “Someone came up from the lower deck and told us there was a fire. When we went down to check, two vehicles were already burning," Karim said, "Fanned by the wind, the flames spread extremely quickly. In less than 30 minutes, everyone had been instructed to move to the bow of the ferry.” Search and rescue teams dispatched a rescue vessel from Surabaya, although officials estimated it would take about six hours to reach the scene. A rigid inflatable boat from the Sumenep rescue post was sent toward the location but later returned to shore because of rough seas and high waves. The Indonesian Navy also deployed a warship to assist. The 160 meters (525 feet) long and 25 meters (82 feet) wide ferry was built in Japan in 1992 and operated on the Osaka-Shinmoji route as the “Ferry Osaka” before being sold to Indonesia in 2015. It serves the Surabaya-Makassar route, a voyage that typically takes around 40 hours and is primarily used by domestic travelers and cargo transport between Java and Sulawesi. Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where ferries are a common method of travel. Disasters occur regularly, with weak safety enforcement often blamed.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that negotiations with Iran will begin Monday afternoon, noting that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar had asked the United States to call off planned strikes because "they think there's a deal." "There's a deal on (the Strait of) Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearization of Iran," Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews. Claiming that Iran had also asked the United States to pull back the planned strikes, Trump said that "now what we're doing is we're talking to them in the form of a negotiation." Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud spoke on the phone with Trump on Saturday and "expressed concern and asked for clarity" about the proposed plan of action against Iran, a U.S. official told news outlet Axios. Pakistan, Qatar, the UAE, Türkiye and other countries have also called on the United States and Iran to de-escalate tensions and avoid further conflict.    

Flight attendants with WestJet, Canada's second-largest airline, went on strike Sunday in a dispute over pay. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the 4,400cabin crew at the airline, announced the strike on its Facebook page. WestJet confirmed the strike and canceled more than 300 flights as of early Sunday, snarling travel plans in Canada in the middle of a three-day weekend. A key issue in the dispute was how flight attendants should be paid for duties performed while still on the ground. The union said some of that work is unpaid, while the company said its staff was indeed compensated, citing pay through a “credit hour” system rather than an hourly rate. “We presented a proposal that would have set a new standard for cabin crew in Canada, making WestJet the only airline to offer an hourly rate covering all time before and after flights, plus a double-digit wage increase in year one among other priorities the union raised,” said Alexis von Hoensbroech, CEO of the WestJet Group. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t accepted.” Alia Hussain, president of the union chapter that represents the cabin crew, said negotiators “tried until the very last minute to get a fair deal that recognizes the value of the work cabin crews do.” “WestJet’s offer did not go far enough," Hussain said. Both sides said they were willing to resume negotiations to reach an agreement. The airline said it could not operate any of its scheduled flights on Boeing 737s or 787s, and travelers will be refunded or reaccommodated. WestJet said it would contact people who reserved with them directly via email, while those who booked through a travel agent or third-party platform should reach out to them. WestJet Encore flights operated on a Q400, as well as code-share flights operated by airline partners, remain unaffected. Last summer, flight attendants at Air Canada, the country’s largest carrier, stranded more than 100,000 travelers during peak travel season with a strike partly over the same issue of groundwork. That work stoppage lasted three days before the sides came to an agreement.

Renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja and nine fellow climbers who were buried in an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak have been confirmed dead, his expedition company said on Saturday as recovery efforts continued. Elite Exped, Purja's expedition company, announced that all 10 members of the team had lost their lives in the avalanche that struck on Thursday, describing the tragedy as a devastating loss for the global climbing community. "The world has lost one of mountaineering's greatest climbers," the company said in a statement, expressing condolences to the families of all those who died. Rescue teams had recovered four bodies by Friday, with three of them brought down despite severe weather that disrupted helicopter operations. Military-supported search teams resumed efforts on Saturday to recover the remaining victims. Irfan Arshad Khan, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said the deaths of climbers from different countries represented a profound loss to the international mountaineering community. He praised military personnel, civilian rescuers and Sherpas involved in the operation, saying the Himalayas and Karakoram continue to inspire adventurers while reminding them of the significant dangers posed by high-altitude expeditions. Earlier on Saturday, local police official Tahir Khan said the remains of Omani climber Nathira Ahmed were being flown to Islamabad, while the bodies of American climber Mallory Geis and Nepali climber Bahadur Gurung remained at a hospital in Skardu, the main city in Gilgit-Baltistan. According to China's Xinhua News Agency, citing the Chinese embassy in Pakistan, a Chinese climber was also among those killed in the avalanche. The expedition was led by Purja, also known as Nims Dai, a Nepal-born former British Army soldier who gained worldwide recognition after climbing the world's 14 peaks above 8,000 metres in a record 189 days in 2019. His achievement was featured in the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, although the record was surpassed in 2023. Elite Exped described Purja as an inspirational leader whose determination, humility and belief in human potential motivated climbers around the world. In a statement, Geis' family remembered her as "a bright light" who was deeply loved by family and friends. The expedition marked Geis' first attempt to climb an 8,000-metre peak in Pakistan. For Pakistani guide Sakhi, who worked with the travel company Moving Mountains, it was expected to be his final expedition. Besides being an experienced mountaineer, he was also known as a geographer and high-altitude photographer. Fatal accidents are not uncommon in Pakistan's northern mountain ranges, where climbers face hazards including avalanches, falling ice and rocks, extreme altitude and rapidly changing weather conditions.

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that he is prepared to suspend further American military strikes against Iran, saying regional partners have outlined the framework of a possible agreement aimed at ending the five-month conflict. In a post on social media, Trump said the proposed agreement would include the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and measures to eliminate what he described as Iran's nuclear threat. He said he had agreed to call off planned military action in the interest of global stability and Iran's future prosperity, while stressing that the decision would depend on the swift conclusion of a deal. Trump has previously announced pauses in military action against Iran since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Feb. 28, though hostilities have resumed after earlier diplomatic efforts failed. Iran's defence minister responded on X, saying Tehran remained vigilant and prepared to respond to any tangible threats from the United States, adding that the country was neither surprised nor passive following Trump's remarks. Proposal seeks renewed negotiationsA regional official involved in mediation efforts said the latest proposal envisions the United States and Iran returning to the negotiating table to resolve issues that have blocked previous agreements. According to the official, the proposal includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz and halting attacks across the region, including operations by Iran-backed militias in Iraq targeting Gulf states and Jordan. In return, the United States would lift its naval blockade on Iran and permit Tehran to resume oil exports under the terms of a proposed ceasefire. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said negotiations are continuing and no final agreement has been reached. Trump also claimed Israel would support the ceasefire initiative, though Israeli authorities did not immediately comment on the statement. Saudi concerns over escalationSaudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the situation with Trump by phone on Saturday, expressing concern that further US military action could trigger Iranian retaliation, according to the Saudi Press Agency. A person familiar with the conversation said Saudi officials fear Iran could target energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations if tensions escalate. The call took place before Trump's social media announcement. The source said the crown prince sought clarification on possible US actions toward Iran. A White House official confirmed the call but declined to disclose details. Iran has repeatedly targeted vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz without its approval during its confrontation with the United States. Israeli strikes continue in GazaMeanwhile, Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight killed at least eight Palestinians, including two children, and injured more than a dozen others, according to local health authorities. Health officials said three members of a family, including a four-year-old child, were killed in a strike on a residential apartment in southern Gaza. Another strike in Gaza City killed three more family members, including a child, while the mother, who was six months pregnant, was among those killed, according to hospital officials. In central Gaza, an Israeli strike killed a man and his wife and wounded four others, local medical authorities said. The Israeli military said the strikes targeted Hamas operatives but did not provide further details. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 1,222 Palestinians, including more than 260 children, have been killed since the October ceasefire. Five Israeli soldiers have also died during the same period. Israel and Hamas continue to accuse each other of violating the truce. Separately, the US State Department issued fresh security alerts on Saturday advising American citizens across the Middle East to prepare for possible flight cancellations, temporary airspace closures and other travel disruptions. The advisory covers Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

At least five people were killed and 41 others remained missing after a ferry carrying 271 passengers and crew caught fire in Indonesian waters, authorities said. According to the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the vessel caught fire near Madura Island while travelling from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city in East Java, to Makassar in South Sulawesi. The ferry's captain alerted authorities after the blaze broke out, reports BBC. Video footage aired by local broadcaster iNews showed dozens of passengers wearing life jackets aboard what appeared to be a lifeboat. Other videos captured people climbing down from the burning ferry as thick smoke and flames engulfed the upper section of the vessel.