United News of Bangladesh

Russian strikes killed two people and injured several others across Ukraine on Friday, officials said, as Kyiv struggled to defend against intensifying Russian attacks that have claimed more than 50 lives over the past three days. One man was killed and five people were injured in Russian strikes on the Zaporizhzhia region on Friday morning, said Mykhailo Semikin, head of the regional military administration. The attacks hit residential areas, and a child was among the injured, he added. In western Ukraine, another man was killed in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, according to Svitlana Onyshchuk, head of the regional military administration. Russian forces also struck warehouse facilities in the Bucha district of the Kyiv region, injuring three people, Ukraine's Interior Ministry said in a Telegram post. Rescue workers were searching for a woman who might still be trapped under the rubble. Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange long-range aerial attacks while fighting along the front line remains largely deadlocked, more than four and a half years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion. Elsewhere, a Ukrainian attack on Russia's eastern Belgorod region killed two people on Friday, the regional emergency headquarters said. Regional Governor Alexander Shuvayev reported that 12 people had been injured in Ukrainian strikes. Zelenskyy seeks additional NATO support Russian attacks using ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones have killed dozens of civilians across Ukraine over the past three days. On Thursday, a Russian guided bomb exploded near public buses carrying passengers in eastern Ukraine, killing 30 people. A day earlier, a Russian missile strike killed 22 people, including five children, in the northern Ukrainian town of Pryluky. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia could intensify its daily attacks as winter approaches. The bombardments threaten Ukraine's preparations for the colder months and target infrastructure vital to its war-damaged economy. Recent Russian targets have included energy facilities, major industries, railway networks, post offices, shopping centres, telecommunications networks, fuel stations and grain exports. Zelenskyy appealed to NATO members on Thursday for additional military assistance. “It is important that support in words takes concrete form in new packages for Ukraine's defense,” he wrote in an online post. He said supplies of anti-ballistic missile systems, ammunition for Ukrainian combat aircraft and investments in interceptor technology were helping save lives every day. Ukraine needs ammunition for its US-made Patriot air defence systems to counter Russian ballistic missiles. It is also racing to develop a new generation of interceptors capable of bringing down Russia's high-flying, jet-powered drones. Ukraine strikes Russian data centres Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack damaged a data centre operated by Russian technology giant Yandex, the company confirmed. Several modules at the facility in Russia's Kaluga region were “completely disabled”, it said. The incident marked the second time in two days that the company had been targeted. A Ukrainian drone attack on Thursday had already forced a data centre in Russia's western Ryazan region offline. Kaluga Governor Vladislav Shapsha said nine people were injured in drone attacks on the region on Friday. In another incident, Tver Governor Vitaly Korolyov said a Ukrainian drone sparked a fire at a factory in Redkino. No casualties were reported. Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defence systems intercepted 505 Ukrainian drones between late Thursday and early Friday.

Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, a former United Nations human rights chief and judge at the International Court of Justice, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her efforts to advance peace and international law. Announcing the award in Oslo, Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes said the South African-born Pillay, 85, had made significant contributions to promoting peace and justice worldwide. Her work “is a source of hope and inspiration to all those who seek to bring about a more peaceful world,” he said. Frydnes added that the committee had not yet managed to contact Pillay to inform her of the award, widely regarded as one of the world's most prestigious honours. In a statement, the committee said the rising number of wars and conflicts, alongside political attacks on judges and international legal institutions, made it important to reaffirm the role of international law in resolving disputes peacefully. It said a global legal system that brings war criminals to justice and ensures accountability for abuses against victims was essential to achieving lasting peace. The Norwegian Nobel Committee received 287 nominations for this year's prize, slightly more than a quarter of them organisations. Experts say the committee generally considers efforts to establish lasting peace, promote international fraternity and strengthen institutions that support these objectives. Last year, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado received the Nobel Peace Prize for her campaign for a democratic transition in Venezuela. She was praised as a woman who kept democracy alive amid growing darkness. Machado later presented her Nobel medal to US President Donald Trump after the United States ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. However, the gesture was largely symbolic, as the Nobel Committee has clarified that the award itself cannot be transferred to another person. Nominations may be submitted by a select group of eligible individuals and organisations, including heads of state, national-level politicians, university professors, directors of foreign policy institutes, former Nobel laureates and members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Four other Nobel Prizes were announced earlier this week. The medicine prize went to three scientists whose work helped develop a light-based tool for investigating brain functions. The physics prize recognised a scientist's efforts to explain an unusual group of neutrinos, while the chemistry prize honoured two scientists for uncovering the mechanisms behind mirror-image molecular structures, work that has contributed to the development of numerous medicines. Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson won the literature prize on Thursday for works described as “bold and inventive” that combine classical and modern elements while blurring the boundaries between poetry and prose. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences is scheduled to be announced on Monday. This year's Nobel Prize carries 12 million Swedish kronor, equivalent to about $1.2 million, whether awarded to an individual, a small group of laureates or an organisation. 125 years of the Nobel Peace Prize This year marks the 125th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, which has been awarded since 1901. So far, it has gone to 112 individuals and 28 organisations. The International Committee of the Red Cross has received the honour three times, while the UN refugee agency has won it twice. The prize has been withheld on 19 occasions, mostly during the two world wars. No award was given in 1948, the year Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. Gandhi had been nominated 12 times but never received the prize. In 1939, a Swedish member of parliament nominated Adolf Hitler but later withdrew the nomination, explaining that it had never been intended seriously.

Senior trade officials from China and the European Union were concluding two days of talks on Friday aimed at easing rising tensions over growing trade imbalances between the two major economies. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic visited Beijing, stressing that the negotiations must produce “tangible outcomes” to help rebalance trade between China and the 27-member bloc. However, it remained uncertain whether the two sides could agree on measures to address the key causes of China’s expanding trade surplus, which reached 360 billion euros ($410 billion) last year. China has urged the EU to lift restrictions on imports of advanced chipmaking equipment, which were introduced on national security grounds following pressure from Washington. Sefcovic said this week’s discussions marked the culmination of three months of intensive work. He had set October as the deadline for achieving meaningful progress on trade rebalancing. Earlier this week, China’s Commerce Ministry urged the EU to refrain from protectionist measures, warning that such actions could have unintended consequences. Trade tensions have intensified in recent months as both sides have imposed or considered restrictions on imports from each other. The EU has taken steps to curb imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles and EV batteries, introduced measures to protect its steel industry and moved to restrict duty-free imports of small e-commerce parcels, a measure largely targeting Chinese fast-fashion companies. Last week, China launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of p-nitrotoluene from the EU. The chemical compound is used in the production of dyes and pharmaceuticals. Chinese officials and businesses have also expressed concern over reports that some EU member states are pushing for additional measures to protect domestic industries. Concerns about the rapid growth of Chinese exports to Europe and other global markets have increased, with some describing the trend as “China shock 2.0”. The concerns have intensified as the United States, particularly since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, has raised tariffs and introduced other measures to reduce its large trade deficit with Beijing. Despite resistance from some trading partners, China’s global trade surplus reached $1.2 trillion in 2025 and is projected to exceed $1 trillion again this year. EU statistics showed that the bloc’s trade deficit with China widened to 103.34 billion euros (about $116 billion) in the April-July period. Imports from China rose to 153.63 billion euros ($172.3 billion), while European exports to China increased to 50.3 billion euros ($56.4 billion).

Three Saudi citizens, including a captain of the national airline, were killed and several people of other nationalities injured in attacks targeting Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and a Saudia Airlines aircraft on Thursday, Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said Friday. The attacks were the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and its allies in neighbouring Yemen launched a major military offensive against Iran-backed Houthi rebels last weekend. According to the civil aviation authority, the first attack targeted airport facilities, while the second struck an aircraft. The statement did not identify those responsible, but the Houthis claimed they had targeted the airport with a ballistic missile. Among those killed was Capt Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, Saudia Group said in a statement. The incident appeared to be the first confirmed attack on Saudi Arabia's national airline since the latest military offensive began. Another statement from Saudia Group said one of its aircraft was damaged while parked on the ground. No passengers were aboard at the time. Riyadh's airport has faced several attacks in recent days. A Sudanese national was killed there earlier this week. The civil aviation authority said the latest attacks left several people injured, with their conditions ranging from minor to serious. Saudia Group said airport operations had returned to normal by 6pm Thursday, several hours after the attacks. Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had destroyed three rocket-launch platforms used by the rebels to threaten regional security.

The Nobel Peace Prize, often considered the most prestigious award on the planet, will be announced Friday in Oslo, Norway. Prognosticators say possible contenders this year include the International Space Station, emergency teams in Sudan, children’s advocates in Ukraine and two top international courts. Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada has attracted attention in prediction markets. U.S. President Donald Trump — who is waging a war against Iran — has long coveted the prize and repeatedly said he deserves it. The Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo received nominations for 287 candidates for this year’s prize, and just over a quarter of them are organizations. Experts say the committee typically focuses on the durability of peace, the promotion of international fraternity and the quiet work of institutions that strengthen those goals. Last year, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, winning recognition as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.” Machado gave Trump her Nobel medal shortly after the United States ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro. But it was largely a symbolic gesture: the Nobel Committee has said the honor itself cannot be transferred. Nominations can be made by a select group of people and organizations, including heads of state or politicians serving at a national level, university professors, directors of foreign policy institutes, past Nobel Prize recipients and members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee itself. Four of this year’s Nobels were announced earlier this week. The Nobel for medicine went to three scientists whose work led to a tool that uses light to help unravel how the brain works. The physics award recognized a scientist’s efforts to demystify a rare group of neutrinos. The chemistry prize recognized two scientists for untangling mysterious mirror images in molecules, a discovery that has been used to develop countless drugs. Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson won the literature prize Thursday for “bold and inventive” works that fuse the classical and the modern and blur the boundaries of poetry and prose. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced Monday. The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), whether for an individual, small group of laureates or organization. Peace prize hits its 125th anniversary This year marks the 125th anniversary of the peace prize, which so far has gone to 112 individuals and 28 separate institutions since its inception in 1901. The Red Cross has won three times and the UN refugee agency twice. Just 20 of the 112 individual laureates have been women, but eight of those women received the prize in the past 15 years. Education activist Malala Yousafzai is the youngest laureate; she won at 17 in 2014. The United States is the most-credited country, with 24 awards naming U.S. institutions or individuals, ahead of the United Kingdom (13) and Switzerland (11). Yet no laureate listed as American has won since U.S. President Barack Obama was awarded in 2009. The prize has gone unawarded on 19 occasions, most of them during the world wars. In 1948, the year Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, no prize was awarded; he had been nominated 12 times and never won. In 1939, a Swedish member of parliament nominated Adolf Hitler, then withdrew the nomination on Feb. 1, saying it was never meant seriously.  

Nine inmates and a child visitor were killed Thursday in a brawl at El Castillo prison in Mexico's northwestern state of Sinaloa, local authorities said. Another 16 inmates were injured and taken for medical treatment, the state's Secretariat of Public Security said in a statement. Personnel from several agencies intervened to restore order, and the prison is now under control, the secretariat said. The state prosecutor's office has been informed of the incident and will investigate its circumstances and establish responsibility. Social workers are providing the families of the victims with updates. Prison visits were suspended as a precaution. Authorities said the remaining inmates were unharmed.

Thousands of sailors aboard the USS Lincoln returned to San Diego Bay on Thursday after more than 10 months at sea, receiving an emotional welcome filled with cheers, tears and hugs. The homecoming reunited families, including fathers meeting their babies for the first time after a historic deployment supporting the war against Iran. The reunion ended a difficult period for many families, who said they had lost sleep and cried after hearing reports of supply shortages and worsening mental health among the crew. Sailors spent a record 265 consecutive days at sea during the deployment, with many families relying on occasional emails and rare WhatsApp calls to stay in touch. Abel Ramirez, 20, smiled as he left the aircraft carrier, relieved that his first deployment was over. “It feels amazing,” he said while looking for his parents, who had travelled from Texas. “There was a certain point when I never thought I would come off.” Fourteen-year-old Cassity Garduque waved at her mother, who was wearing her sailor's uniform and waving back from the ship's upper deck. She said seeing her mother again was overwhelming, as she had missed most of her seventh-grade school year and Cassity's birthday. She was also happy that her mother would no longer have to eat ramen almost every day. Capt. Daniel Keeler, the ship's commanding officer, said most of the crew members were on their first deployment and described the difficulties as normal during such a lengthy mission. He said sailors had access to four meals a day. “It's a floating city as you can see and at any moment there might be a clogged toilet,” he said. Navy acknowledges challenges during deployment The Navy initially played down reports of problems aboard the carrier. In August, President Donald Trump said the Lincoln's lengthy deployment was “not nearly long enough.” Navy leaders later acknowledged some difficulties during the mission. On Wednesday, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Lincoln to present its crew with the Presidential Unit Citation, one of the highest honours awarded to military units. Hegseth praised the sailors for their ability to adapt, remain resilient and complete their mission despite the challenges. He also rejected attempts to portray the carrier as a symbol of dysfunction, low morale or mission failure. The Lincoln was the second US aircraft carrier to undertake an unusually long deployment during the war against Iran and subsequently receive the citation, which is generally awarded for significant achievements in combat. The USS Gerald R. Ford returned in May after a 326-day deployment, the longest for a US aircraft carrier in the past 50 years and a record in the post-Vietnam War era. The Lincoln's deployment lasted 322 days, falling just short of that record. The Navy said 64 fathers were among the first sailors to leave the carrier at the naval base in Coronado and meet their babies for the first time. Including the ship's air wing, the number of new fathers reached 122, Keeler said. Kathy Monterrosa, a sailor's wife from Virginia Beach, Virginia, waited with her six-month-old daughter, Sarahi, dressed in a small blue-and-white sailor outfit. “She's our deployment baby,” she said. Monterrosa said she had been worried about her husband's safety after hearing reports about conditions aboard the ship while she was pregnant. She said she cried frequently because she did not know whether he was safe. Her husband eventually told her that conditions had been “pretty bad”. However, she said she now felt blessed to have her family back together. Sailor Steven Rivas became emotional while holding his seven-month-old daughter. He said returning home did not feel real until the ship entered the bay and he saw the people waiting for the crew. His voice shook as tears filled his eyes while describing the moment. Alma Solano Velez said her husband had prepared a long list of foods he wanted to eat after spending more than 10 months at sea. The list included oxtail, barbecue chicken, broccoli and shrimp empanadas. He had also told her about shortages of food and showers aboard the ship. He was eager to see their daughter, who turned four while he was away, she said. Carrier completes combat missions in the Middle East The Lincoln left San Diego in November and reached the Middle East in January. US and Israeli forces launched airstrikes against Iran on Feb 28. In August, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the carrier had maintained adequate food supplies, although combat operations restricted opportunities to replenish supplies and temporarily reduced meal options. On its journey home from the Middle East, the carrier stopped in Thailand early last month. Extended deployments can place significant pressure on sailors, who must spend long periods away from their families, while also increasing the strain on ships and equipment. The Navy told lawmakers that eight sailors attempted suicide during the Lincoln's record-setting deployment. However, experts said the figure was low for a strike group comprising about 6,000 sailors over 10 months. According to the citation read by Hegseth, the Lincoln and its strike group carried out nearly 3,700 combat missions, launched 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, shot down 77 one-way attack drones, sank 64 Iranian warships and destroyed 21 anti-ship cruise missiles. The USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier usually based in Asia, replaced the Lincoln in the Middle East in August.

At least 30 people were killed and 18 wounded Thursday when a Russian guided bomb exploded near passenger buses at a bus stop in Krematorsk, Donetsk, as Russia intensified pre-winter attacks and power outages worsened in Kyiv. Krematorsk military administration chief Oleksandr Honcharenko said Russia was targeting civilians and that rescue work was hampered by subsequent drone attacks. Public transport was suspended in the area. A day earlier, Russian missile strikes on Pryluky killed 22 people, including five children, and wounded at least 54.   President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of increased Russian missile and drone attacks ahead of winter and urged NATO countries to provide air-defense systems, ammunition and interceptor support. Energy company DTEK said emergency outages were ordered in Kyiv, separately from scheduled nationwide outages. Authorities urged families to prepare emergency supplies for possible prolonged blackouts. Yandex said a Ukrainian drone damaged a data center in Ryazan. Ukraine also claimed it struck a major oil refinery in Salavat, while Turkey proposed measures to protect Black Sea shipping. Lithuania deployed about 100 additional troops near Kaliningrad.

Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature for her genre-defying works that bring together classical traditions and contemporary themes. The Swedish Academy announced the award in Stockholm on Thursday, praising Carson’s distinctive literary style and her ability to move between poetry, essays, fiction and other art forms. Ingrid Carlberg, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Carson was in Iceland “listening to the wind” when the academy contacted her about the award. Carson, 76, was reportedly surprised by the news. Born in Toronto, Carson frequently draws on ancient Greek and Roman literature in her writing. Her notable works include Eros the Bittersweet, which explores desire in ancient Greek literature; the verse novel Autobiography of Red; Men in the Off Hours, which won Canada’s Griffin Prize for poetry in 2001; and Norma Jeane Baker of Troy, which draws parallels between Marilyn Monroe and Helen of Troy. Carson has also translated several major works of classical Greek literature. Her translations include If Not, Winter, based on fragments of poems by Sappho, as well as Sophocles’ Electra and Antigone and Euripides’ Bakkhai. Anders Olsson, chair of the Swedish Academy’s literature committee, said Carson’s work brings together a deep interest in language with an ongoing search for new meanings. Her works combine influences ranging from ancient Greek writers to poets and novelists such as John Keats, Virginia Woolf and Emily Bronte, resulting in what Olsson described as playful and ironic works that cross boundaries between genres and artistic forms. Carson has taught classics at several universities in North America. She has also lived in Iceland, where she and her husband, Robert Currie, became citizens in 2022. Her personal experiences have also influenced her writing. In Nox, published in 2010, Carson explored the long absence and eventual death of her brother Michael. Olsson described the work as both literary and sculptural, presenting photographs, letters and other texts in an accordion-style format inside a box. In 2024, Carson revealed in the London Review of Books that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She wrote about the impact of the illness on her handwriting, describing the loss of her handwriting as particularly distressing. The Associated Press said its attempts to reach Carson and her literary agent, Nicole Aragi, were unsuccessful immediately after the announcement. Last year, Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his surreal and darkly humorous novels. The Nobel Prizes in medicine, physics and chemistry were announced earlier this week. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday, while the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced Monday. The prize carries a cash award of 12 million Swedish kronor, or about $1.2 million.

Thousands of supporters of India's youth-led “Cockroach” movement and several student organizations rallied in Bengaluru on Thursday, intensifying a nationwide campaign demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a voter-list revision that has removed more than 130 million names. The protest in the southern Indian city came a day after opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was briefly detained by police during a demonstration in New Delhi. Images showing police pulling Gandhi into a vehicle spread widely on social media, giving fresh momentum to protests against Kumar. Gandhi's Congress party has announced plans for more demonstrations in New Delhi later Thursday. The voter-list review, known as the Special Intensive Revision, has been conducted across most Indian states and federally administered territories. More than 130 million names have so far been removed from the rolls, a figure larger than the populations of countries such as Japan and Mexico. Millions of people have appealed against the deletions. Opposition parties allege that the removals have disproportionately affected their supporters, while voters considered more likely to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party have been retained or added to the rolls. The Election Commission and the government reject those claims, saying the review is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible voter entries. People whose names have been deleted can appeal, but restoring their names can be difficult. Critics say the requirements are complicated and some applicants may not have documents such as older government records needed to prove their eligibility. Public anger grew further last month after an investigation by the Indian Express newspaper reported that two election commissioners had raised concerns about the process. The “Cockroach” movement has played a major role in the campaign. It began as an online youth initiative in May before expanding into street protests across India. Earlier nationwide demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes by the movement over exam paper leaks eventually led to the resignation of India's education minister in July. Protesters are demanding Kumar's resignation and an end to the removal of names from voter lists, warning that the process could prevent millions more people from voting. The protests pose a political challenge to Modi halfway through his third term, as opposition parties seek to turn public anger into a wider national movement. Gandhi has also emerged as one of the prominent faces of the campaign. The “Cockroach” movement has called for further protests in New Delhi from Saturday. Thousands are expected to march to Jantar Mantar, the capital's designated protest site, where police have already put up barricades ahead of the demonstrations.