United News of Bangladesh

Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford have won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, the final award to be announced in this year’s Nobel Prize series. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the award in Stockholm on Monday. Last year, the economics prize went to three researchers whose work explored how innovation, new products and inventions drive economic growth and improve human welfare, while potentially leaving older businesses behind. Formally known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, the award was established by Sweden’s central bank in 1968 to honour Alfred Nobel, the 19th-century Swedish businessman and chemist who invented dynamite and founded the five original Nobel Prizes. Although commonly grouped with the Nobel Prizes, the economics award was not part of Nobel’s original bequest. However, it is presented alongside the other Nobel awards each year on December 10, marking the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896. The other prizes, covering medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace, were announced last week. The prize carries a monetary award of 12 million Swedish kronor, equivalent to around $1.2 million, which may be shared by an individual, a group of laureates or an organisation.

Airstrikes struck two areas of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, around midnight, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels blaming Saudi Arabia for the attacks on Monday. Riyadh had not immediately responded to the allegations. Meanwhile, India’s Foreign Ministry said two Indian sailors were missing after a drone hit a commercial tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, while another vessel carrying Indian crew members was struck by an unidentified projectile. Here are the latest developments from the Middle East on Monday. Airstrikes kill one, injure 12 in SanaaAirstrikes on Yemen’s capital killed one person and wounded 12 others, according to Anees al-Asbahi, spokesman for the Houthi-run Health Ministry. Al-Asbahi said a strike on a salt factory in the Hamadan district killed a man and injured eight people. Another strike hit a house, wounding a woman and three children. The Houthi media centre accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out the attacks as the rebels continued launching missiles and drones toward airports in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia had issued no immediate response. Saudi capital’s airport closure extendedSaudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation did not announce when King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh would reopen. The Houthi rebels have reportedly attacked the airport several times in recent days, killing at least 14 people and injuring at least 320 others. Iran offers to mediate between Houthis and Saudi ArabiaIran reiterated its willingness on Monday to facilitate diplomatic efforts to end the conflict between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran was deeply concerned about the situation in the Arabian Peninsula and had repeatedly offered to mediate between the two sides. He argued that the conflict served Israel’s interests and said Iran opposed continued hostilities between two Muslim nations. Baghaei also said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had discussed the latest developments with his Saudi counterpart in a phone call on Sunday. Riyadh businesses shift to remote workSeveral businesses in Riyadh’s financial district have instructed employees to work from home following an escalation in Houthi attacks, according to employees familiar with the decisions. The employees, who spoke anonymously on Monday citing safety concerns, said their companies had offices in the King Abdullah Financial District. The area houses major financial institutions, including Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, an Aramco office, the stock exchange and international firms such as Goldman Sachs. Authorities in Riyadh have also asked schools to move classes online this week following deadly attacks on King Khalid International Airport over the weekend. Two Indian sailors missing after drone strikes tankerIndia’s Foreign Ministry said two Indian crew members were missing after a drone struck the commercial tanker MT Petro Dolphin near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. The vessel was carrying 11 Indian sailors at the time. A second tanker, the Marshall Islands-flagged MT Valthera, was hit by an unidentified projectile, triggering a fire on board. All 11 Indian sailors aboard that vessel were reported safe, the ministry said. The ministry described the repeated attacks on commercial vessels in the region as deeply concerning, warning that they could further worsen an already volatile situation. UAE official urges Gulf unity against attacksAnwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the rulers of the United Arab Emirates, called on Monday for coordinated action among Gulf states to defend against attacks by Iran and its allied groups. Gargash said Iran and its allies had mistakenly viewed Gulf Arab nations as the weakest link in the US-Israeli war against Iran. In a social media post, he stressed that the security of Gulf countries was interconnected and warned that attacks on Saudi Arabia also threatened the UAE and other Gulf states. Iran and its allies have repeatedly targeted Arab countries across the Persian Gulf. Iran executes man accused of supporting militant groupIran executed a man on Monday who was convicted of belonging to the Jaish al-Adl militant group and supporting attacks against security forces, the judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency reported. The agency identified the man as Omar Dorostaran and said he provided logistical assistance to armed operatives by arranging safe houses, transporting members and supplying weapons and ammunition. Iran’s judiciary accused him of supporting attacks on police and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities in Rask, as well as military installations in the southeastern port city of Chabahar in April 2024. An attack on a police station in Rask killed 11 police officers and soldiers. Jaish al-Adl, also known as the Army of Justice, is a Sunni militant group established in 2012 that has repeatedly targeted Iranian security forces in the country’s southeastern region. Former US secretary of state calls for Iran’s regime to be crushedFormer US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that deadly Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia highlighted the failure to achieve the intended level of deterrence in the war against Iran. Speaking at a conference in Abu Dhabi on the future of the Middle East after the war, Pompeo said the United States and its partners had yet to establish effective deterrence. Pompeo, who also served as CIA director during US President Donald Trump’s first administration, called for the removal of Iran’s ruling regime, arguing that no other solution would be sufficient.

Opposition parties in India marched toward the Supreme Court on Monday to protest a voter list revision they allege benefits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, following a major police crackdown that saw thousands of activists detained over the weekend. Opposition lawmakers and supporters sought to submit a petition to the chief justice, calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protests, spearheaded by the youth movement known as “Cockroach,” have gained momentum since election authorities launched the voter list revision last year. More than 130 million names have reportedly been removed from the electoral rolls. Critics argue that the exercise is politically motivated and could deprive eligible citizens of their voting rights. However, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission have rejected allegations of manipulation, saying the revision aims to eliminate duplicate and ineligible entries. Ahead of Monday’s demonstration, authorities shut down six metro stations in the capital and issued warnings of possible traffic disruptions. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi described the growing protests as a struggle to protect India’s Constitution. “We will not back down,” he told reporters in New Delhi. Police detained thousands of protesters in the capital over the weekend, including leaders of the “Cockroach” movement. The group had previously led demonstrations that culminated in the resignation of Modi’s education minister in July. Modi has not publicly commented on the latest protests. However, leaders of his party have dismissed the demonstrations, with some describing the activists as “anarchists.”

Airstrikes targeted two districts in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, around midnight, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels said Monday, blaming Saudi Arabia for the attacks. Riyadh did not immediately comment on the claim. Meanwhile, two Indian sailors went missing after a drone struck a commercial tanker in the Strait of Hormuz area, India’s Foreign Ministry said Monday. The two were among 11 Indian crew members aboard the MT PETRO DOLPHIN when it was hit on Sunday, the ministry said. Airstrikes target Yemen’s capital The Houthis reported airstrikes on Sanaa’s Hamdan and Thourah districts as tensions between the Iran-backed rebels and Saudi Arabia continued to escalate. The rebels’ media centre said the strikes took place around midnight Monday but provided no further details. It blamed Saudi Arabia for the attacks, which came as the Houthis continued launching missiles and drones towards Saudi airports. Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to the allegation. Two Indian sailors missing after tanker attack India’s Foreign Ministry said a drone struck the MT PETRO DOLPHIN in the Strait of Hormuz area on Sunday, leaving two of the 11 Indian sailors aboard missing. A second vessel, the Marshall Islands-flagged MT VALTHERA, was also hit by an unidentified projectile, sparking a fire onboard. However, all 11 Indian sailors on the tanker were safe, the ministry said. India’s Embassy in Muscat was coordinating with Omani authorities and the vessels’ management companies to locate the missing crew members. The ministry condemned the attacks, saying repeated strikes on commercial shipping in the region were “deeply concerning and risk further aggravating an already volatile situation.” UAE official urges joint Gulf action Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the rulers of the United Arab Emirates, on Monday called for joint Gulf action to defend regional countries against attacks by Iran and its allied groups. Gargash said Iran and its allies had wrongly assessed that Gulf Arab countries were “the weakest link” in the US-Israeli war against Iran. Tehran and its allies have repeatedly attacked Arab countries across the Persian Gulf. In a social media post, Gargash said the Gulf states were all targets and that their security was indivisible. He added that attacks on Saudi Arabia also threatened the security of the UAE and all Gulf countries.

China on Monday imposed sanctions on Paraguay's communications minister and Belize's foreign minister over their countries' diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as part of its territory. The sanctions against Paraguay's Gustavo Villate and Belize's Francis Fonseca aim to protect China's “national sovereignty, security, and development interests” and oppose what Beijing calls efforts to promote “Taiwan independence”, China's Foreign Ministry said on its website. Paraguay and Belize are among the 12 countries that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. China considers the island part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring it under its control. Beijing has increased military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, regularly sending warplanes and naval vessels near the island. It has also stepped up efforts to persuade Taiwan's diplomatic partners to switch allegiance to China. Several countries, including Nauru, Honduras and Nicaragua, have shifted their diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing in recent years. Most of Taiwan's remaining diplomatic allies are smaller countries in Central America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. The list also includes Eswatini in southern Africa and the Vatican City. The sanctions against Villate and Fonseca are largely symbolic, as officials from countries maintaining diplomatic relations with Taiwan generally do not travel to China. The measures include freezing any assets the two officials may hold in China, denying them visas and entry into the country, and prohibiting Chinese individuals and organisations from cooperating with them. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said in a speech marking Taiwan's National Day on Saturday that the island values peace but will not surrender its freedom. He said Taiwan's increased defence spending was intended to deter a possible conflict with Beijing rather than provoke one. China criticised Lai's speech, accusing him of ignoring facts and misleading the public.

India's Chief Justice Surya Kant has declined a meeting request from opposition INDIA bloc leaders over alleged electoral irregularities, saying the Supreme Court's doors are open to everyone but the matter should be raised through a formal petition as it is already before the court. The opposition parties announced plans to march to the Supreme Court on Monday as part of their campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the election authorities of “vote chori”, or stealing votes. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge had written to the Chief Justice, seeking a meeting between 4pm and 5pm to submit a memorandum demanding an end to alleged electoral manipulation, Kumar's resignation, suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a return to paper ballots. “I received a letter yesterday regarding a meeting request, and I responded to it last night, outlining the reasons why I will be unable to meet,” Chief Justice Surya Kant told reporters after an event marking the National Human Rights Commission's 33rd Foundation Day on Monday. “The Supreme Court's doors are open to everyone. Any petition from any common citizen or member of an elected body is welcome. Every Indian citizen has the right to approach the court, and we will hear their concerns and grant whatever is due under the law,” he said. According to sources, the Chief Justice's response said the concerns raised by Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and other opposition leaders would be better addressed through judicial proceedings rather than by submitting a memorandum through administrative channels. The Congress has called Monday's protest “Chalo Delhi — March for Democracy”. Participants were scheduled to gather at the Connaught Place-Barakhamba Road junction at 1:30pm before marching towards the Supreme Court. In a post on X, Gandhi said the march would bring together Indians across political parties, genders, castes, communities and states. “Yesterday, the nation's youth came out in Delhi to peacefully protest. They came with love in their hearts, not hatred or anger. They were beaten, both by cops and BJP goons. This is not the India we want,” Gandhi wrote. “Tomorrow, we will march to the Supreme Court as Indians, united beyond party, gender, caste, community and state. Youth, all opposition parties, civil society groups, and all those who believe in democracy and stand by the Constitution of India will walk with us,” he added. On Friday, leaders of several INDIA bloc parties marched from Parliament to Vijay Chowk and later submitted a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu. Speaking in Bengaluru on Sunday, Kharge accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of creating chaos across the country. He said the heavy police deployment and detentions during Saturday's protests reflected the government's fear of the youth-led agitation. “Yesterday, nearly 32,000 police personnel and 7,500 CRPF personnel were deployed. This itself shows how much the government fears the youth agitation,” Kharge said. He alleged that the government's actions showed it did not want democracy to function peacefully in India. “We will continue our fight to protect democracy and the constitutional rights of the people,” he added. Gandhi and Kharge had also written to the Chief Justice in June on behalf of the INDIA bloc. The letter was signed by the DMK and the Aam Aadmi Party as well. The opposition described the SIR exercise as a “monumental disaster” and raised concerns about the conduct of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. In their June letter, the leaders said they believed the electoral process was being manipulated and that results in several instances did not reflect the people's wishes. They accused the Election Commission of India, particularly the Chief Election Commissioner, of bias and alleged that its actions had favoured the BJP during elections and influenced their outcomes. The letter also criticised the voter grievance mechanism as inadequate and alleged that large numbers of names had been removed from electoral rolls arbitrarily without proper notice. Although the stated purpose of the SIR exercise was to remove duplicate entries and the names of deceased and migrant voters, the opposition argued that its implementation lacked transparency and differed from previous procedures. The opposition's campaign has intensified following a report by The Indian Express claiming that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections at least 14 times over the previous 10 months, including over the SIR exercise. Last week, the INDIA bloc finalised a joint action plan over the voter-list revision controversy, including rallies and marches under the banner of “Save Democracy”. Source: NDTV

The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, the final award in this year's Nobel season, will be announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on Monday. Last year's prize went to three researchers for their work on innovation and economic growth. They explained how new products and inventions drive economic development and improve living standards while making older businesses less competitive. The award is formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Sweden's central bank established it in 1968 to honour Alfred Nobel, the 19th-century Swedish businessman and chemist who invented dynamite and founded the five original Nobel Prizes. Although commonly called the Nobel Prize in Economics, it is technically not one of the original Nobel Prizes, a distinction often highlighted by Nobel purists. However, it is presented alongside the other Nobel awards on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896. The Nobel Prizes in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace were announced last week. The prize carries 12 million Swedish kronor, or about $1.2 million, whether awarded to an individual, a group of researchers or an organisation.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an “energy ceasefire” in their four-and-a-half-year war, but provided no details as Kyiv reported fresh Russian attacks on energy facilities. In a brief social media post, Trump said the ceasefire had taken effect immediately, adding, “Do not break it!” Moscow did not immediately comment on the announcement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Trump's statement as “good news for everyone” but said Russian attacks on energy infrastructure continued in Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv. “Unfortunately, Ukrainian skies have been infested with Russian 'shaheds' all day today,” Zelenskyy said in an evening address, referring to Russian-launched drones. He also reported glide bomb attacks and strikes on energy facilities, including a power plant in Kharkiv. Zelenskyy's office confirmed that the Kharkiv attack occurred after Trump's announcement. The Ukrainian president said Kyiv was ready to stop attacking Russian energy facilities and expected Moscow to do the same. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure during the war, disrupting electricity, heating and water supplies in an effort to weaken public resistance to its invasion. Ukrainian officials have described the strategy as “weaponising winter”. Zelenskyy said Ukraine had proposed several measures to reduce tensions, but Russian President Vladimir Putin had rejected them all. He expressed hope that Putin would finally respond positively to appeals from the United States, Ukraine and the international community. Kyiv remains in contact with Washington, Zelenskyy said, thanking the US for its support. He also said he had discussed the latest developments with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. In an interview broadcast earlier Sunday on ABC's “This Week”, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was prepared to stop striking Russian oil refineries if Moscow halted attacks on Ukraine's energy system. He urged Trump to press the Kremlin to accept the proposal. “We are asking President Trump, (to) give them (a) signal, not (to) attack energy infrastructure of Ukraine,” he said. On September 14, Trump had also claimed that the two countries agreed not to attack each other's energy infrastructure, but provided no details. Zelenskyy had expressed willingness to comply if Russia did the same, but the proposal did not lead to an agreement. Trump, Zelenskyy clash over elections Trump said Saturday that Ukraine should elect a new president, arguing that Zelenskyy had failed to do enough to end the war. He also blamed the Ukrainian leader for high diesel prices in the United States. In response, Zelenskyy said Ukraine could hold elections if Russia agreed to a 60-day ceasefire. “Give us two months, 60 days off. Total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organize elections,” he said, adding that he would accept whatever choice Ukrainian voters made. “With all respect to President Trump, it's up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader,” Zelenskyy said. He added that holding elections during the war would be unlawful under the current legal framework and that security guarantees would be needed to ensure safe voting. Ukraine has been under martial law since Putin launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The country's constitution prohibits elections while martial law remains in force and allows the president to stay in office until a successor is sworn in. Organising a nationwide vote would also be difficult because Russia controls roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, millions of Ukrainians have fled abroad and many soldiers remain on the front line. Zelenskyy's presidential term formally expired in May 2024. The exchange came as Ukraine continued its campaign against Russian infrastructure. A Ukrainian drone strike on Sunday shut down a data centre operated by technology company Yandex in the Russian city of Vladimir, east of Moscow. It was the third attack on the company's facilities in four days. Russia and Ukraine have continued long-range aerial attacks while fighting on the front line has remained largely deadlocked. Trump, who announced a deal with Putin on Friday to purchase Russian diesel to help lower fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections, has repeatedly urged Zelenskyy to stop attacks on Russian energy facilities. He has blamed Ukraine for record-high US diesel prices rather than the US-led war in Iran, which has pushed up global energy costs. Ukrainian and European officials criticised the proposed diesel deal, saying it would help finance Russia's war effort. Ukrainian strike disrupts Russian digital services The Ukrainian drone attack on Yandex's data centre in Vladimir disrupted several of the company's services, leaving users in dozens of Russian cities, as well as in Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia, unable to order taxis or access banking services, according to Russian independent news outlet Astra. “Operations at the data center have been completely halted. There were no injuries,” Yandex Cloud said on its Telegram channel, which provides service updates. The disruption affected everyday activities in Moscow. Pavel Belyavskiy, a Yandex Taxi driver, said he was unsure whether ride requests were coming through and had to cancel several trips after waiting for passengers he could not contact. “I'd press the 'call' button to contact them, but nothing happens,” he said. “There's nothing I can do, so I'm just forced to cancel.” Igor Mann said he could not access an order on Yandex Market, the company's shopping platform. Using a virtual private network did not solve the problem. “Nothing worked,” he said. Another Moscow resident, Eduard Malyavko, said the outages had a “direct impact” on daily life beyond simple inconvenience, affecting areas including healthcare. The latest attack followed two other strikes on Yandex facilities. A drone attack on Thursday disrupted a data centre in Russia's Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow. Ukrainian drones struck another major Yandex data centre in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, the following day, disabling part of the facility, the company said. Often described as Russia's equivalent of Google, Yandex operates the country's most popular search engine and a wide range of digital services. It is also heavily involved in Russia's artificial intelligence development. Death toll from Zaporizhzhia bombing rises to 23 Elsewhere, search and rescue operations ended in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia following a Russian bombing on Saturday, according to Ivan Fedorov, a former regional head and co-chair of the regional defence council. Zelenskyy said 23 people, including four children, were killed in the attack. More than 30 others were injured, Fedorov said, adding that eight remained in hospital. In Russia, a man was killed and two women were injured in a Ukrainian drone strike in the border region of Bryansk, local officials said Sunday.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi group intercepted and destroyed a drone and a ballistic missile targeting Saudi Arabia, coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said Monday. In separate statements posted on social media platform X, al-Maliki said the drone was intercepted in the kingdom's Eastern Province, while the ballistic missile was launched by the Houthis toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The interceptions came amid escalating cross-border hostilities, following attacks on two Saudi airports on Sunday. An attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed one Pakistani resident and injured 11 others, while King Fahd International Airport near Dammam was also attacked, according to Saudi aviation authorities. On Saturday, a Houthi strike on King Khalid International Airport killed 12 people and injured 309 others, according to the authorities.

North Korea on Monday fired multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, South Korea’s military said, adding to a recent streak of weapons demonstrations that has heightened tensions during a prolonged freeze in diplomacy. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from an area around the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, where the country has used its airport as a major launch site in recent years. The joint chiefs did not immediately specify how many missiles they detected or how far they flew. Japan’s Defense Ministry said it detected at least two missiles and assessed that the weapons landed in waters outside the country’s exclusive economic zone. The launch came days after South Korea on Friday flight-tested its first domestically developed hypersonic weapon, designed to fly at least five times the speed of sound and evade missile defense systems, which President Lee Jae Myung described as an important step in strengthening the South’s conventional defense capabilities. While maintaining a hard line toward Seoul, North Korea has been ramping up weapons testing as it seeks to expand its arsenal of nuclear-capable systems, including an Oct. 3 test of what the North described as a hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to evade missile defenses in South Korea and Japan. North Korea has also conducted other missile tests and live-fire drills and commissioned a new warship as leader Kim Jong Un continues to flaunt his nuclear weapons program while rejecting U.S. and South Korean offers to resume long-stalled diplomacy. Tensions were further worsened after three South Korean soldiers were injured in land mine explosions last month near the heavily armed inter-Korean border. The South’s military and the U.S.-led United Nations Command concluded the blasts were caused by devices planted by North Korea, which has denied responsibility and ridiculed the South’s demands for an apology. Kim in recent years has halted all diplomacy and cooperation with South Korea and described the neighbor as a permanent enemy during a prolonged stalemate in larger nuclear negotiations with Washington. He has so far rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls to revive their diplomacy, which broke down in 2019, with his government demanding that Washington abandon its “hostile” policy toward Pyongyang and drop demands for North Korea’s denuclearization as a precondition for talks. The tensions have been a setback for Lee, who favors engagement with North Korea and has tempered his rhetoric toward the North even as public anger grows over the mine blasts. Lee has also called for strengthening South Korea’s conventional defense capabilities while reducing its reliance on the United States. Washington unilaterally decided to scale back a major military exercise with South Korea in August, with Trump citing his “very good relationship” with Kim.