United News of Bangladesh

At least seven people were killed and 27 others injured when a cache of seized explosives blew up inside a police station in Srinagar, the main city of Indian-administered Kashmir. The explosion occurred late Friday (November 14) at the Nowgam police station in southern Srinagar. Most of the victims were police personnel and forensic experts who were examining the materials when they detonated, according to unnamed sources cited by Indian broadcaster NDTV. Two officials from the Srinagar administration were also among the dead. With five of the injured in critical condition, the death toll may rise, NDTV reported. “This was not a terror attack. Police say it was a tragic accident,” NDTV senior executive editor Aditya Raj Kaul wrote on social media. He added that the blast occurred while officers and forensic teams were inspecting the stored explosives. The incident comes just days after a deadly car explosion in New Delhi on Monday that killed at least 12 people near the historic Red Fort. Authorities have labelled that explosion a “terror” attack. Read more: Bangladesh stands by India at this distressful hour Hours before the New Delhi blast, police had arrested several suspects and seized explosives and assault rifles. Officials said the suspects were linked to Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), a Pakistan-based group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, and its local affiliate Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. In connection with the New Delhi incident, authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir have detained more than 650 people. Reports say the Nowgam police station had been investigating JeM posters displayed in the area warning of attacks on security forces and non-locals. Police said the probe exposed a “white-collar terror network” involving radicalised professionals and students connected to handlers in Pakistan and elsewhere. Investigators also seized nearly 3,000kg of ammonium nitrate—commonly used in bomb-making—believing the armed group was amassing materials for a major attack. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947, with both countries claiming the region. The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars over Kashmir, and tensions over the contested territory continue to run high. Read more: Touhid dismisses Indian media reports Source: AL Jazeera

Haitian police engaged in a prolonged firefight with gangs from Thursday night into Friday, killing seven gang members and deliberately destroying a helicopter that was forced to land during the operation, authorities said. The incident took place in Croix des Bouquets, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. According to a Haitian National Police (PNH) statement on Facebook, the helicopter experienced a “suspected malfunction” and had to make an emergency landing. Police officers were unharmed, but set the aircraft on fire to prevent gangs from seizing it. Videos posted online Friday appeared to show gang members celebrating next to the burned helicopter. PNH spokesperson Garry Desrosiers confirmed that seven gang members were killed. Police also recovered a Barrett semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle used in the confrontation — a powerful, high-capacity weapon authorities say gangs frequently use to intimidate civilians. Croix des Bouquets is dominated by Viv Ansanm (“Living Together”), a major gang alliance designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization. Gang influence in Haiti has surged in recent years, with criminal groups now controlling roughly 90% of the capital. Violence has displaced a record 1.4 million people, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration. The U.N. is supporting a Kenya-led mission to counter Haiti’s gangs, though critics say the effort suffers from inadequate staffing and funding.

The United States intensified efforts Friday to rally support for its Gaza proposal at the U.N., while Russia introduced an alternative resolution that removes language about a transitional authority to be led by President Donald Trump and instead calls on the U.N. to outline options for an international stabilization force. The U.S. and eight nations involved in brokering the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas — Qatar, Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Turkey — issued a joint statement urging the 15-member Security Council to quickly approve the latest U.S. draft. Of the eight, only Pakistan currently sits on the council. The American proposal underwent revisions this week after some council members objected, prompting the U.S. to add more explicit references to Palestinian self-determination. A U.N. diplomat familiar with the talks, speaking anonymously, said both the U.S. and Russian drafts are expected to go to a vote early next week. The U.S. resolution is seen as likely to secure the nine votes needed to pass, with Russia and China expected to abstain rather than veto. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump’s ceasefire framework “is the best path to peace in the Middle East,” and argued that the U.S. resolution is key to advancing it. The American draft backs Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan, which includes the creation of a Board of Peace — a transitional authority Trump would lead — and authorizes a broad international stabilization force in Gaza responsible for border oversight, security, and demilitarization. Countries open to contributing troops have said such authority is essential. After concerns were raised that the draft did not sufficiently address a future Palestinian state, the U.S. updated the text. It now states that once reforms to the Palestinian Authority are implemented and Gaza reconstruction advances, conditions could emerge for a “credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood and self-determination. Russia’s competing draft, obtained by the Associated Press, contains stronger endorsements of a two-state solution and stresses that the West Bank and Gaza must form a unified state under the Palestinian Authority. Russia said its proposal aims to ensure the Security Council has the proper authority and tools to uphold international peace and insists that any resolution must reaffirm core principles — especially the two-state solution. Moscow argued that the U.S. draft lacked these elements, prompting it to circulate its own text to “bring it into conformity” with previous council positions. The Russian mission emphasized that its version does not oppose the U.S. initiative and acknowledges the crucial mediation efforts by the U.S., Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey that helped secure the ceasefire and hostage releases. Russia added that it supports parts of Trump’s plan that led to renewed humanitarian access, the exchange of bodies, and the freeing of detainees. On Thursday, the U.S. mission warned that attempts to create division could have “grave and entirely avoidable consequences” for Palestinians in Gaza and urged the council to unite behind the American resolution.

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is eliminating U.S. tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruits, and a wide range of other commodities — a surprising shift as his administration faces growing criticism over high consumer costs. Tariffs have been a cornerstone of Trump’s second-term economic strategy, aimed at boosting U.S. manufacturing through heavy taxes on imported goods. His sudden reversal on key everyday staples marks a major policy change, coming after recent off-year elections where voters cited economic worries and handed Democrats major victories in Virginia, New Jersey, and other states. “We just rolled back some food tariffs, like on coffee,” Trump said aboard Air Force One en route to Florida shortly after the announcement. When asked whether his tariffs had contributed to rising prices, Trump admitted they “may, in some cases,” but insisted that “other countries” have shouldered the burden. Inflation, despite Trump’s repeated claims that it has disappeared during his presidency, remains high and continues to squeeze consumers. The administration has maintained that tariffs boosted federal revenue and weren’t a primary driver of higher grocery costs. Democrats quickly framed the rollback as proof that Trump’s policies had been hurting Americans. “President Trump is finally admitting what we’ve long said: his tariffs are raising prices,” said Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia. “After being punished in recent elections by voters angry about broken promises on inflation, the White House is now trying to spin this as a shift toward affordability.” Concerns Over Grocery Costs Trump imposed broad tariffs in April. He continues to deny they increased consumer prices, despite economic analysis showing otherwise. Beef prices have been a particular flashpoint. Trump had pledged to address the issue, and tariffs on Brazilian beef — a major source — played a role in rising costs. A new executive order lifts tariffs on tea, fruit juice, cocoa, spices, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, and some fertilizers. Several of these goods aren’t produced domestically, meaning the original tariffs did little to encourage U.S. production but did raise costs for consumers. Food industry groups welcomed the move, saying that reducing import taxes will help stabilize supply and lower prices. The White House explained that some initial tariffs are no longer necessary due to new trade agreements with Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Argentina that improve access for U.S. products and may lower agricultural tariffs in return. Earlier this week, Trump hinted to Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that tariff reductions were coming. “We’re going to lower some tariffs on coffee,” he said. Tariff Revenue and Promised Checks Despite the rollback, Trump reiterated aboard Air Force One that he still plans to use tariff revenue to send $2,000 checks to many Americans, possibly in 2026. He also suggested the same funds might go toward paying down the national debt, raising questions about feasibility. Trump denied that issuing direct payments would worsen inflation, though he acknowledged that similar programs during the pandemic may have fueled price increases. “This is money earned, not printed,” he said. “Everyone but the wealthy will get it. It’s real money — it comes from other countries.”

A Turkey-registered plane crashed in western Croatia on Thursday, police said, with local media reporting that the pilot had died. The Air Tractor AT-802 disappeared from the radar shortly before 5 p.m. local time, an Interior Ministry statement said. Some 20 minutes later emergency services were informed that a plane was on fire near the town of Senj, close to the Adriatic Sea coastline, the statement said. Police said the plane was flying from the northern port of Rijeka to the capital Zagreb and back. No other details were immediately available. Air Tractor AT-802 planes are usually used in agriculture or for fire-fighting. Croatia's HRT public broadcaster said the plane belonged to Turkey's forestry administration. The HRT report said rescue teams found the pilot's body after they extinguished the fire. No one else was on the plane, the report added.  

The BBC apologized Thursday to U.S. President Donald Trump for a misleading edit of his Jan. 6, 2021 speech but said it had not defamed him, rejecting the basis for his $1 billion lawsuit threat. The broadcaster said Chair Samir Shah sent a personal letter to the White House expressing regret for the edited version of Trump’s speech delivered before some of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress prepared to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, which Trump falsely claimed was stolen. The publicly funded network added that it has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary, which had spliced together portions of Trump’s remarks that were originally nearly an hour apart. “We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action," the BBC wrote in a retraction. Trump’s lawyer had sent the BBC a letter demanding an apology and threatened to file a $1 billion lawsuit for the harm the documentary caused him. It had set a Friday deadline for the BBC to respond. While the BBC statement doesn’t respond to Trump’s demand that he be compensated for “overwhelming financial and reputational harm," the headline on its news story about the apology said it refused to pay compensation. The dispute was sparked by an edition of the BBC’s flagship current affairs series “Panorama,” titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” broadcast days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The third-party production company that made the film spliced together three quotes from two sections of the 2021 speech into what appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell.” Among the parts cut out was a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully. Director-General Tim Davie, along with news chief Deborah Turness, quit Sunday, saying the scandal was damaging the BBC and “as the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, the buck stops with me.” The letter from Trump's lawyer demanded an apology to the president and a “full and fair” retraction of the documentary along with other “false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading or inflammatory statements” about Trump. Legal experts have said that Trump would face challenges taking the case to court in the U.K. or the U.S. They said that the BBC could show that Trump wasn’t harmed because he was ultimately elected president in 2024. Deadlines to bring the case in English courts, where defamation damages rarely exceed 100,000 pounds ($132,000) expired more than a year ago. Because the documentary was not shown in the U.S., it would be hard to show that Americans thought less of him because of a program they could not watch. While many legal experts have dismissed the president’s claims against the media as having little merit, he has won some lucrative settlements against U.S. media companies and he could try to leverage the BBC mistake for a payout, potentially to a charity of his choice. In July, Paramount, which owns CBS, agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump over a “ 60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump alleged that the interview was edited to enhance how Harris, the Democratic nominee for president in 2024, sounded. That settlement came as the Trump-appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission launched an investigation that threatened to complicate Paramount’s need for administration approval to merge with Skydance Media. Last year, ABC News said it would pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit over anchor George Stephanopoulos ’ inaccurate on-air assertion that the president-elect had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll. A jury found that he was liable for sexually abusing her. The apology and retraction came as BBC said it was looking into a report in the Daily Telegraph that its Newsnight program in 2022 had similarly spliced together parts of the same speech by Trump.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Israel’s President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his long-running corruption trial, prompting debate over potential U.S. influence in Israeli internal affairs. In a letter, Trump described the case against Netanyahu as a “political, unjustified prosecution” and praised him as a “formidable and decisive wartime prime minister” now leading Israel toward peace. Trump had previously called for a pardon during a speech to the Knesset last month while promoting his Gaza ceasefire plan. Netanyahu, charged with fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes in three separate cases, has denied wrongdoing and labeled the trial a media-orchestrated witch hunt. He expressed gratitude to Trump on X, calling the support “incredible” and reaffirming their partnership on security and peace. Israel’s presidency is largely ceremonial, though the president can grant pardons. Herzog acknowledged receiving the letter but noted that any pardon request must follow formal legal procedures. Opposition leader Yair Lapid and legal experts warned that a pardon without a formal request or admission of guilt would be highly unusual and could undermine the rule of law. The Trump intervention has raised broader concerns about American influence over Israeli policies, particularly regarding Gaza security. Visits by senior U.S. officials earlier this year sparked media scrutiny, though both Netanyahu and U.S. officials dismissed claims of interference.  

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday described U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to boycott next weekend’s Group of 20 (G20) summit in South Africa as “their loss,” while urging Washington to reconsider the effectiveness of boycott politics. Speaking to reporters outside the South African Parliament, Ramaphosa said, “The United States needs to think again whether boycott politics actually works, because in my experience it doesn’t. It is unfortunate that the United States decided not to attend the G20. Their absence will not affect the summit. The G20 will go on, and all other heads of state will be present. In the end, fundamental decisions will be taken, and their absence is their loss.” The U.S. decision comes after Trump cited widely disputed claims that members of South Africa’s white minority, the Afrikaners, are being violently persecuted and having their land seized because of their race. The president announced last week on social media that no U.S. government official would attend the Nov. 22-23 summit in Johannesburg. Ramaphosa added that the boycott means the U.S. is “giving up the very important role that they should be playing as the biggest economy in the world.” Trump had raised similar claims during a May meeting with Ramaphosa at the White House, despite evidence refuting widespread anti-white violence in South Africa. He also criticized the South African government over its decision to accuse Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza at the United Nations’ top court. The G20, formed in 1999, brings together 19 of the world’s largest economies and the European Union to address global economic and development issues. The United States is scheduled to take over the G20 presidency from South Africa at the end of the year. Trump described the summit on Truth Social as “a total disgrace” and alleged that Afrikaners “are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated.” While he had already confirmed he would not attend, U.S. Vice President JD Vance had been expected to represent the country. Trump’s claims echo narratives pushed by conservative U.S. media since 2018 and are linked to criticisms of South Africa’s affirmative action policies, designed to redress historical inequalities faced by the Black majority under apartheid. Elon Musk and others have also accused the South African government of being anti-white. Ramaphosa’s administration has dismissed these allegations as misinformation and misunderstanding of the country’s policies. U.S.-South Africa relations, once robust, are at their lowest since the end of apartheid in 1994, and tensions escalated in March when Washington expelled the South African ambassador over remarks regarding Trump. The Trump administration has consistently criticized South Africa’s G20 hosting, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipping a February G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Pretoria, calling South Africa’s policies “anti-American” and questioning its focus on climate change and global inequality.   With inputs from AP

The Indian government on Wednesday described Monday's Delhi car blast as a "heinous terror" act perpetrated by anti-India forces. The federal government took more than 48 hours to dub the car blast as a terror act. In a resolution adopted by the federal cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government said, "The country has witnessed a heinous terror incident, perpetrated by anti-national forces, through a car explosion near the Red Fort on the evening of 10 November 2025. The explosion resulted in multiple fatalities, and caused injuries to several others." It also reiterated India's unwavering commitment to a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

Australia’s High Court on Wednesday dismissed Russia’s legal challenge against a law that revoked its lease for a new embassy site in Canberra, ruling that the government acted lawfully on national security grounds but must pay compensation. The court’s seven judges unanimously upheld the government’s authority to cancel the lease but said Russia is entitled to compensation and half of its legal costs for bringing the case. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland welcomed the ruling, saying it confirmed the government’s right to act in defense of national security. “Australia will always stand up for our values and our national security,” she said, adding that the government would consider its next steps regarding compensation. The Russian Embassy did not immediately comment on the decision. Russia was granted the lease in 2008 for land located just 300 meters from Parliament House to build a new embassy, though it continues to operate from its older Soviet-era compound in the Griffith suburb. In 2023, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government had received “very clear security advice” against allowing a new Russian diplomatic presence so close to Parliament. The same day, Parliament passed emergency legislation canceling the lease, following a lower court ruling in Russia’s favor against local Canberra authorities. The disputed site remains mostly undeveloped except for a small consular structure. Moscow has condemned the eviction as “Russophobic hysteria.” In court, Russian lawyers argued the law was unconstitutional, claiming there was no concrete evidence of a security threat and that the government was obliged to compensate Russia for the loss. Australia’s Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had advised the government privately, though the classified details were not disclosed in court. Government lawyer Stephen Donaghue countered that Canberra was within its legal powers to strip the lease, saying compensation should not be owed to a nation “for problems they cause themselves.” Russia’s lawyer Bret Walker said it was “disturbing” to justify taking land on national security grounds without proving a specific threat, arguing that property should not be confiscated without compensation.