United News of Bangladesh

Rescue teams searched a mountain in Nepal on Monday for 12 people who were swept away by an avalanche that killed at least two others amid severe weather. The avalanche struck Mount Himlung, a 7,126-metre (23,380-foot) peak in north-central Nepal, on Sunday. Ten other people were rescued from the mountain. All those killed or missing were Nepali nationals. They were staying at a base camp and preparing for foreign climbers who were expected to arrive to scale the peak during the autumn climbing season, which began this month. Helicopters evacuated the 10 survivors, while the bodies of the two victims were flown to Kathmandu airport on Monday and later taken to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. Family members and friends gathered at the hospital morgue but declined to speak to reporters. Heavy rainfall triggered flooding and landslides in Manang district, where Mount Himlung is located, over the weekend, according to the district administration office. The avalanche occurred as the Nepalese government warned of severe weather across the Himalayan nation. The country's disaster management agency said 21 other people had died and five remained missing in different parts of Nepal between Thursday and Sunday. Nepal is still recovering from devastating floods in August that swept through several villages, killing more than 1,400 people and leaving nearly 6,000 others missing.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he expects the United States and Iran to hold more talks this week, a day after confirming that he had rejected Iran's latest truce proposal. "I expect more talks with Iran [this week]," Trump said in a phone interview with U.S. online news outlet Axios. Citing two regional sources, Axios reported that another round of indirect dialogue between the United States and Iran could take place as early as Monday, although it remained unclear whether the two sides could bridge their differences. Asked whether he was considering resuming strikes against Iran, Trump said: "I am always thinking about it." U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held a new round of indirect negotiations with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last Tuesday. According to Axios, Iran proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming nuclear talks within a week, on the condition that the United States lifts its naval blockade, removes sanctions on Iranian oil sales and restore a regional ceasefire. Trump rejected the Iranian proposal on Saturday. Araghchi told NBC on Sunday that Iran still wanted a diplomatic solution despite Trump's rejection. "Although we heard from President Trump that he's rejecting this deal ... we are still waiting for an official response through the mediators," Araghchi said.

President Donald Trump has justified the pending U.S. arms sale to Taiwan to Chinese President Xi Jinping by downplaying it as just one of many sales Washington makes around the world — even asking Xi if he’d be in the market for U.S. arms, Trump’s ambassador to China said on Sunday. David Perdue said Trump raised the prospect of the arms sales from the U.S. to its ascendant geopolitical rival, an unlikely offer that if consummated would upend generations of U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan and potentially expose U.S. technology to a potential foe. Perdue, speaking to Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday” days after Trump hosted Xi for a state visit in Washington, didn’t specify when the offer was made. Bream had cited concerns from Republican and Democratic lawmakers over delayed aid packages and weapons orders to Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy, to defend itself from China’s threat to invade the island. Bream asked if the U.S. is denying Taiwan to appease the Chinese president, who visited Trump last week. Perdue pushed back on the suggestion, stating that Trump “is as strong on Taiwan as I’ve ever seen anybody” and has sold it plenty of weapons. Perdue also said Trump and Xi continue to talk about future U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan. “But President Trump continues to say, ‘Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world,’” Perdue said. “He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some, at one point.” The U.S. is bound by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. While not recognizing Taiwan as a country, the U.S. is the island’s strongest informal backer and arms provider. But multiple U.S. leaders have left ambiguous whether they would commit military force to defend the U.S. ally should China invade.  

At least 10 people have died in landslides and floods caused by persistent rainfall across Nepal, while four others remain missing, according to the Armed Police Force (APF) on Sunday. Four members of the same family were killed in a landslide in Baglung district, while two others died in separate landslides in Palpa district. Three people are still missing in Palpa. In Myagdi district, another person was killed and one remains missing after a landslide. Three more people died in other districts after floodwaters swept away their homes. APF spokesperson Netra Bahadur Karki said floods destroyed at least 66 houses in Parbat district and six in Rupandehi district. Landslides also destroyed 10 houses in different parts of the country. “We are still collecting data on the losses. The loss figure is sure to rise,” Karki told Xinhua. Rescue and relief operations are underway in the affected areas, he said.

Iran’s latest diplomatic effort to end its seven-month war with the United States and reopen the Strait of Hormuz has been rejected by President Donald Trump, leaving negotiations uncertain despite recent indirect talks between the two sides. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited New York for the UN gathering of world leaders and proposed an agreement under which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened within seven days. Tehran’s proposal called for the United States to lift its military blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions. The demands largely mirror terms included in a June agreement that collapsed only days after it was signed. The latest proposal differs mainly in its accelerated timeline and reportedly suggested that a quick agreement could benefit Trump in the November midterm elections. Trump said Saturday that he had rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the strategic waterway. Earlier, he posted an image on social media referring to the Strait of Hormuz as the “Trump Strait.” The developments came as both countries face mounting economic pressure from the prolonged conflict. First indirect talks in months US and Iranian representatives held about three hours of indirect discussions through mediators on Tuesday, marking their first such talks in months. The talks followed the collapse of a previous agreement aimed at ending the fighting and starting negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the discussions had been positive and that Washington was willing to continue talking. However, Trump used his speech to world leaders at the United Nations on Tuesday to threaten to “annihilate” Iran. Pezeshkian, speaking a day later, said Iran would continue fighting “until our last breath,” while also indicating at the end of his address that Tehran remained open to diplomacy. Tehran outlines new proposal Iran’s foreign minister presented the latest proposal during a private meeting Thursday on the sidelines of the UN gathering. Opening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran moved to control after being attacked by the United States and Israel, could ease pressure on international markets and reduce risks for US military forces escorting commercial vessels through the waterway. For Tehran, lifting the US naval blockade and removing restrictions on oil exports would provide an opportunity to increase crude shipments and ease economic difficulties as Iran’s currency has fallen to record lows and inflation has surged. Pezeshkian also met Qatar’s prime minister early Friday. Qatar has been acting as a mediator in the indirect negotiations. “The choice now rests with the United States,” Araghchi told reporters Friday evening. The White House said earlier Saturday that US officials were engaged in positive and constructive discussions with mediators. Both sides weigh costs Iran has also held extended discussions with Oman, located across the Strait of Hormuz, on managing shipping through the waterway. Analysts said Tehran’s latest push for an agreement with Washington appears to reflect concern about the political and economic consequences of the conflict, including the approaching US midterm elections. Trump, however, has repeatedly indicated that he is not in a hurry to reach a deal while US sanctions continue to pressure Iran’s economy. Trump said Saturday that Iran was seeking an agreement because it was “losing so badly.” “They want to make a deal and I think that’s fine,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “I’d like to make a deal, too. But that deal would not be acceptable.” Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Washington could believe that maintaining pressure until the November elections would serve its interests, while Tehran could reach the opposite conclusion. Trump’s rejection of the proposal raises the possibility of renewed fighting, which could push oil prices higher. There was no immediate indication Saturday that Araghchi had left New York. Meanwhile, Iranian security forces have warned that they still have targets to strike, suggesting that the military confrontation remains unresolved.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has rejected Germany's call for Moscow to step back from what Berlin described as a “dangerous path of escalation” toward Germany, Europe and NATO. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Lavrov accused Germany of being Ukraine's main sponsor and seeking to become a leading military power in Europe. “Does Berlin understand what this could lead to?” Lavrov said, referring to Germany's position. He also invoked the lessons of World War II. His remarks came shortly after he met German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on the sidelines of the General Assembly meeting, reportedly the first meeting between the two countries' foreign ministers since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Lavrov later described the meeting, which was requested by Wadephul, as producing nothing new, saying the German minister had simply repeated Berlin's publicly stated position condemning Russia. According to a German delegation official, Wadephul urged Russia to abandon its “dangerous path of escalation” and expressed readiness for improved relations if Moscow showed a genuine willingness to end the war in Ukraine. Tensions between Russia and Germany have increased in recent weeks following an alleged drone incident at Leipzig airport, which Germany has blamed on Russia, and subsequent reciprocal measures between the two countries. Lavrov also criticized efforts by Germany and Japan to obtain permanent seats on the UN Security Council, making clear that Russia would oppose such attempts. He also criticized Japan's security policies and what he described as the militarisation of the country. Japan's Deputy UN Ambassador Mikanagi Tomohiro rejected Lavrov's characterization, saying Japan is a peace-loving country and that freedom, democracy and fundamental human rights remain the basis of its decisions and actions. On the Ukraine war, Lavrov accused Western countries of seeking Russia's “strategic defeat” and said such efforts would lead to a strategic dead end. He said Russia remains ready to return to what Moscow considers an agreement reached during the August 2025 meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Lavrov also accused the United States of undermining Europe's security system and creating what he called a “Russophobic regime” in Kyiv. Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Wadephul told the General Assembly that Russia's war in Ukraine was harming millions of civilians, Ukrainian statehood and culture, as well as European security, and urged Moscow to negotiate an end to the conflict. Lavrov's UN appearance came amid continued intensification of the aerial war between Russia and Ukraine. Russian forces have continued missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, while Ukrainian forces have carried out long-range drone strikes against targets inside Russia, including oil facilities and businesses. Ukrainian authorities said Russian attacks killed four people on Saturday, while Russian authorities reported three deaths from a Ukrainian drone attack. The war has also continued to affect global energy, fertilizer and grain supplies while deepening divisions between Russia and Western countries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged international partners to maintain pressure on Moscow and prevent the conflict from spreading. He said the United States was seeking technical-level talks involving delegations from the United States, Ukraine and Russia, with Kyiv awaiting Washington's proposal for a date.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States has led to new progress in a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said after Xi wrapped up his U.S. visit on Friday. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while briefing reporters on Xi's state visit to the United States from Sept. 23 to 25. President Xi and President Donald Trump had a candid and in-depth exchange of views in a friendly atmosphere of mutual respect on strategic and overarching issues concerning China-U.S. relations and the broader global landscape, Wang said. Since President Trump began his second term, the two heads of state have maintained close exchanges, including three in-person meetings and five phone talks, and fostered a pattern of interaction marked by mutual respect and sincerity, said Wang, noting this has become the most valuable strategic asset in China-U.S. relations. An important political outcome of the visit is that President Xi and President Trump further enriched the substance of the new positioning of China-U.S. relations and have agreed to build a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability based on respect, fairness and reciprocity, Wang said. Respect means respecting each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, respecting each country's choice of social system and development path, and respecting the other side's core interests and major concerns, Wang said. Fairness, Wang continued, means pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation and handling differences through consultation, rejecting a zero-sum game in which one side's gain comes at the expense of the other's, and not seeking unilateral absolute advantage. Reciprocity means that the two countries are equal in sovereignty, that neither side stands above the other, that neither engages in hegemonic nor bullying behavior, that each side's concerns are addressed on an equal basis, and that cooperation across various fields develops in a balanced manner, Wang said. Noting that President Xi has pointed out that a stable China-U.S. economic and trade relationship requires both expanding the list of cooperation and shortening the list of problems, Wang said that the U.S. side should treat Chinese companies fairly, resolve problems through dialogue and negotiations, and promote the sustained, stable and positive development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations. The fentanyl abuse problem in the United States is not caused by China, but China has always acted with the utmost goodwill and made every effort to assist the U.S. side in addressing the fentanyl crisis, Wang noted, adding that the two heads of state tasked the law enforcement agencies of the two countries with continuing to strengthen cooperation and jointly combat transnational crime. To promote people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States, President Xi has announced a series of new measures, including inviting 100,000 young Americans to visit China for exchange and study programs over the next five years, Wang said. One piece of good news that has been particularly welcomed by the American public is that two pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, will soon arrive at Zoo Atlanta, Wang added. During the visit, Wang said, the two heads of state had an in-depth exchange of views on major international and regional issues of common concern and agreed to strengthen coordination to make due contributions to world peace and development. President Xi also encouraged relevant parties to stay committed to peace, supported the United States and Iran in returning to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, resuming dialogue and negotiations at an early date, and ultimately reaching a comprehensive agreement covering the nuclear issue, Wang said. During the visit, President Xi and President Trump also had an in-depth exchange of views on artificial intelligence (AI), pointing out that the two countries should leverage respective strengths rather than guard against each other, Wang said. The two heads of state agreed to make good use of AI dialogue mechanisms between the two countries and jointly prevent the misuse and abuse of AI, Wang added. Noting that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials, Wang said that China and the United States are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and it is their shared responsibility to uphold the postwar international order and prevent the resurgence of militarism. China and the United States will respectively host the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and the G20 Leaders' Summit in the fourth quarter of this year, Wang said, adding that the two heads of state confirmed their mutual support, which will continue to inject momentum into cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and global governance.

The German and Russian foreign ministers met Saturday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, holding what's believed to be the first such tête-à-tête since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The meeting came as tensions between the European Union and Russia rose — and just before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed world leaders. In the encounter, German Foreign Minster Johann Wadephul called on Russia to abandon its “dangerous path of escalation” toward Germany, Europe and the NATO alliance, a German delegation official said. Ties between Russia and Germany have soured in recent weeks, following an attempted drone attack last month at Leipzig airport — Germany has blamed the incident on Russia — and tit-for-tat responses that followed it. Wadephul expressed openness to a better relationship but said it required a genuine willingness from Russia’s leadership to end the war in Ukraine, according to the official. The German news agency dpa reported that the roughly 20-minute meeting took place in a room provided by the Russian side and ended with both ministers shaking hands. Later, Lavrov said at a news conference that “nothing new came from” the conversation. Then, Lavrov denounced the West in his speech After the meeting, Lavrov went on to take the rostrum at the General Assembly, where he defended his country’s war in Ukraine and lobbed barbs at the West — including Germany. He made a point of blasting the notion of Germany or Japan gaining a permanent seat on the powerful U.N. Security Council. The United States has long supported permanent seats for those countries and India. Criticizing NATO and the U.S. — though not President Donald Trump by name — Lavrov complained that the West “continues to try to maintain its privileges and to impose its own rules on everyone else” even as the geopolitical ground is shifting. “A fairer, multipolar world order is emerging before our very eyes,” said Lavrov, whose country is part of the BRICS group of leading developing nations and other organizations that he portrays as more forward-looking and constructive. Moscow has repeatedly sought to stress that it maintains a strong position on the global stage despite its 4½-year war on Ukraine and isolation from the West. Writing on her personal Telegram channel, Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, said that “tens of diplomats” had come to meet Lavrov to “shake his hand and thank Russia.” An overwhelming majority of General Assembly member nations have repeatedly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as Wadephul noted in his own address to the assembly Saturday. “Russia’s war targets the lives of millions of innocent people, the existence of the Ukrainian state and culture and the European peace order,” he said, urging Russia to negotiating toward ending the fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had his turn at the assembly rostrum Wednesday, when he pressed other countries to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts, and he echoed that message on social media Saturday morning. “It is essential that our partners not forget: Russia is escalating every single day,” he wrote, adding that “the world must choose stronger responses to keep the war from spreading further.” The remarks came amid an intensifying aerial war. With front-line positions largely unchanged since last year, Russia has hammered Ukraine with cruise and ballistic missiles, powerful glide bombs and jet-powered drones in recent months, while Ukraine’s long-range drones have targeted Russian oil refineries and businesses. Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks killed four people Saturday, as Russian authorities said a Ukrainian drone attack killed three. Since Russia launched the war — which Moscow describes as a “special military operation” intended to ensure Russia’s security and the rights of Russian speakers — Western analysts have estimated that over 500,000 Russian troops have been killed and that Ukraine has recorded more than 500,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths. Neither country discloses its own casualty totals. The backdrop is a wide impact on fuel, fertilizer and grain chipments The war has had global repercussions for fuel, fertilizer and grain shipments — and for geopolitics, widening divisions between Russia and the West. U.S. lawmakers passed a powerful sanctions bill aimed at Moscow last month. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law last week but hasn’t enacted the measures yet. Now back in Ukraine, Zelenskyy told reporters in voice mail messages Friday that Washington is pushing for three-way, technical talks involving delegations — but not top leaders — from the U.S., Ukraine and Russia. He said Ukraine is waiting for the U.S. to propose a date. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump, during a call earlier this month, discussed holding such a meeting in the near future, but there were no specific plans yet. Speaking to reporters in St. Petersburg on Friday night, Putin decried recent Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia and on Russian-held areas of Ukraine. He said “proposals to resume the talks are all on the table,” but Moscow “will think carefully about what we need to do.” Representatives from the three countries held three rounds of three-way negotiations early this year but achieved no significant breakthroughs.

Iran offered this week to reopen the strait and resume talks on its nuclear program in seven days if the U.S. lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observes a ceasefire that would include Lebanon. But on Saturday, Trump rejected the proposal saying Iran wanted to make a deal because it was “losing so badly.” “They want to make a deal and I think that’s fine,” Trump told reporters outside the White House before leaving for a college football game. “I’d like to make a deal, too. But that deal would not be acceptable.” Iran effectively closed the strait after the U.S. and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic in late February, and the number of ships passing through has dropped significantly because of Iranian threats and attacks on vessels in the waterway.    

Intensifying aerial strikes involving missiles, glide bombs and drones between Moscow and Kyiv left 10 people dead across both nations on Saturday, 4½ years into Russia's invasion. Russian attacks killed four people in Ukraine-two women trapped under home rubble in Zaporizhzhia and two in Sumy. Strikes also hit Kyiv, Odesa and Kharkiv. In the Kyiv region, strikes injured six people-including two in a Boryspil warehouse fire-damaged residential and office buildings, and hit a data center supporting Starlink and mobile internet, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged stronger global responses and UN sanctions to deny Moscow war revenue. Meanwhile, Ukrainian long-range drone strikes killed three people, injured two and sparked fires at industrial sites and an oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar region, Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev reported. Ukrainian attacks also killed three overnight in Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia, according to Moscow-installed head Yevgeny Balitsky.