United News of Bangladesh

The head of the Houthis' Supreme Political Council on Thursday claimed that the situation along Yemen's west coast has stabilized following the conclusion of strikes against Saudi reinforcements. According to a statement by Mahdi al-Mashat reported by the Houthi-run  media, an amnesty decree for Saudi-backed government troops has also been implemented. The announcement follows overnight military advances in which Houthi fighters captured territory along the Red Sea coast, including the strategically important port city of Mocha. With inputs from Al Jazeera

Indonesian rescuers are searching for eight people who went missing at sea while traveling to Anak Krakatau volcano to cover its latest eruption, officials said Wednesday. The missing group includes five journalists, two boat crew members and a guide. They were traveling by speedboat from Carita in Banten province to the volcanic island in the Sunda Strait. Banten Search and Rescue Office chief Al Amrad said the last message from the group was received by a journalist’s relatives at 6:13 p.m. Monday, saying they had reached waters near Anak Krakatau. Their last known location was about 18.5 kilometers from the coast. Rescue teams have been searching since Tuesday but have yet to locate the boat or establish contact with those aboard. The journalists work for Indonesia’s Antara news agency, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, Merdeka and iNews, while another is a freelance photographer. Anak Krakatau’s initial eruption ended Sunday but the volcano has continued to erupt intermittently, sending lava, ash and glowing volcanic material into the air. The eruption forced airport closures on Sunday and Monday, disrupting nearly 2,961 flights and affecting around 341,000 passengers. Authorities have also allowed schools in areas affected by volcanic ash to temporarily shift to online classes. Anak Krakatau, meaning “child of Krakatau,” emerged from the remains of the volcano whose massive 1883 eruption devastated the surrounding area and contributed to global cooling. An eruption in 2018 triggered a tsunami that killed at least 430 people in Sumatra and Java. The volcano has remained at Indonesia’s second-highest alert level since July, with authorities advising people to stay at least 3 kilometers from the crater. Indonesia has more than 120 active volcanoes and frequently experiences eruptions because it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”

Iran will announce a restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days and impose sanctions on ships that attempt to pass through the area without coordinating with Tehran, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said. In an interview with state-run IRIB TV aired Sunday night, Rezaei said the zone would stretch from the point where the US naval blockade begins toward the Strait of Hormuz and into the Persian Gulf on the opposite side of the waterway. He said vessels entering the zone without prior coordination with Iran could face sanctions that would affect their insurance coverage and their ability to use the waterway in the future. Rezaei described the planned move as part of a wider change in Iran’s military and diplomatic strategy aimed at putting greater pressure on Washington. He also rejected US claims that ships and oil tankers are continuing to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, insisting that the strategic waterway is completely closed. According to Rezaei, some vessels have attempted to cross through a route near Oman, sometimes turning off their navigation systems to avoid detection. He claimed that most of those ships “receive blows.” However, he said Iran does not currently plan to sink the vessels because of concerns over possible environmental damage. Rezaei also said Iran had test-fired a domestically developed anti-destroyer missile over a US aircraft carrier for the first time about 48 hours earlier. He described the test as a warning that the US naval blockade could be challenged. “The special missile created a hell for the Americans, and they fled,” he said. Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the United States takes practical measures to meet its commitments under a peace memorandum of understanding signed by Tehran and Washington in June. He added that Iran and Oman would announce a new international corridor for ships seeking to pass through the strait in the coming days. The corridor, he said, would be managed by Iran. The latest restrictions followed US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Tehran subsequently limited passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while US forces imposed a naval blockade targeting vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports and coastal waters.

Rescue teams searched through the remains of a collapsed building in New Delhi on Monday as the death toll from the incident rose to six, officials said. The five-story building, which operated as a hostel for male students, collapsed Sunday in Satya Niketan, a densely populated area known for private student accommodations near a Delhi University campus. Police, firefighters and teams from India’s disaster response agency continued search operations for a second day. Earthmoving machines removed large amounts of debris while sniffer dogs were deployed to help locate people who might still be trapped under the rubble. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said rescuers had pulled at least 12 people alive from the debris. About 80% of the rubble had been removed by Monday, with only debris from the basement still left to clear. Gupta said six people had died and six others were injured in the collapse. Residents said the building was at least 55 years old and had been undergoing renovation for several months. Although the work was reportedly incomplete, the building was reopened to tenants, most of them students, in August. Prakash Chand, a local resident, said workers were digging in the basement when the building suddenly collapsed. Gupta said preliminary investigations indicated that water had accumulated in the basement and that ongoing repair work on the aging structure may have contributed to the collapse. She said the government would introduce a policy requiring regular structural inspections and safety certificates for buildings used by the public. The proposed rules would cover student accommodations, nursing homes, schools and similar facilities. “No public activity will be permitted” in buildings that fail to meet the required safety standards, Gupta said. Building collapses are a frequent danger in some parts of India during the June-to-September monsoon season, when heavy and prolonged rainfall can weaken older structures and increase the risk of collapse.

Indonesia kept several airports closed and allowed schools in affected areas to shift to online classes Monday, as volcanic activity from Anak Krakatau eased after an eruption that disrupted around 2,300 flights and spread ash across several areas. The eruption lasted about 25 hours and ended Sunday, producing a lava fountain and a powerful boom that could be heard as far as 700 kilometers (435 miles) away, according to the country’s Geological Agency. However, the volcano remained active Monday, with moderate and intermittent eruptions, dark ash clouds and small local earthquakes, the agency said. Poor weather conditions were also making it difficult to observe the volcano clearly. AirNav Indonesia said tests detected volcanic ash in the airspace over Jakarta and several other cities. As a precaution, authorities closed eight airports until 6 p.m. Monday. The closures included four commercial airports operated by state-owned InJourney Airports — Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma international airports, Husein Sastranegara in West Java and Radin Inten in Lampung, on the southern tip of Sumatra. InJourney Airports said the closures had disrupted about 2,300 flights and affected 268,539 passengers at its four airports. The eruption also affected education. The government allowed schools in ash-affected areas, including parts of Jakarta, West Java, Banten and Lampung provinces, to temporarily conduct classes online from students’ homes to limit their exposure to volcanic ash. Lana Saria, head of the Geology Agency, warned that the risk of further eruptions remained high in the coming days. She said potential dangers included volcanic rocks, heavy ashfall and lava flows if the eruption continued for a prolonged period. Anak Krakatau is a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait, located between Indonesia’s main islands of Java and Sumatra. Its name means “child of Krakatau” because it emerged from the remnants of the notorious Krakatau volcano. Krakatau’s massive 1883 eruption triggered a period of global cooling and remains one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in recorded history. In 2018, Anak Krakatau erupted and triggered a tsunami that killed at least 430 people on the coasts of Sumatra and Java. Researchers believe the eruption caused an underwater landslide, sending a large section of the volcano’s southwestern slope into the sea and displacing a huge volume of water. Indonesia has more than 120 active volcanoes and regularly experiences eruptions because it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a zone of seismic faults surrounding the Pacific Ocean where much of the world’s earthquake and volcanic activity occurs.

Nepal observed a national day of mourning Monday for those killed in devastating floods that struck the country and Tibet on Aug. 26, with government offices lowering national flags to half-staff as families completed traditional mourning rituals. The floods have killed more than 1,300 people in Nepal and Tibet and left around 5,000 others missing, including foreign nationals, according to Nepal's disaster management agency. Monday marked the 13th day since the disaster. In predominantly Hindu Nepal, close family members traditionally observe a 13-day mourning period, culminating in rituals to pray for the souls of the deceased. Some families whose relatives remain missing have held symbolic funerals. Cremation is an important final rite in Hindu tradition, and conducting the rituals even without recovering a body can provide families with a sense of spiritual closure. The government had earlier declared Monday an official day of mourning and ordered flags at government offices to be flown at half-staff. In Kathmandu, relatives of missing people gathered near the prime minister's office and key government ministries, urging authorities to intensify search and rescue operations for hundreds of workers at hydropower plants who were swept away by the Bhotekoshi River or buried under debris. Search operations continued Monday for hundreds of people still unaccounted for. Rescuers on Saturday pulled a Chinese national alive from a power plant, while two Nepali workers were rescued from another section of the facility on Friday. Authorities said rescue teams are increasingly concentrating on 12 hydropower projects where around 900 workers remain missing, with about 500 believed to be trapped inside tunnels. Specialized teams from India, China, South Korea and the United States have joined the search, combing through debris, damaged structures and tunnels in efforts to locate survivors.

Iran said Sunday that it had struck an unmanned U.S. vessel attempting to enter the Strait of Hormuz, marking the latest escalation in renewed fighting between the two countries. The United States did not immediately confirm the reported attack. It came a day after the U.S. military said it had struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to a missile attack targeting U.S. Navy warships. The conflict began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. Although a ceasefire was announced in June, sporadic clashes have continued as negotiations between the two sides collapsed. Fighting resumed last week after about a month of relative calm, with attacks again focusing on the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian communities along the strategic waterway. At least five people were killed earlier in the week during U.S. strikes in southern Iran. The Trump administration appears to be pursuing both military and economic pressure, responding to attacks in the strait while targeting foreign financial institutions accused of helping Iran move money. Despite years of sanctions and the current U.S. blockade, Iran has continued finding ways to export oil, relying partly on a so-called shadow fleet to transport crude to buyers and ease growing economic pressure. Meanwhile, efforts to resolve disputes over Iran's nuclear programme have stalled after negotiations broke down shortly after the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June. Diplomats say the United States, Britain, France and Germany are seeking to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council over Tehran's alleged failure to meet its nuclear nonproliferation obligations. Iran, however, is increasingly using its position around the Strait of Hormuz as leverage. The waterway is a vital route for global oil and natural gas shipments and had been regarded as an international passage before the war began.

Indonesia cancelled hundreds of flights and temporarily closed airspace around Jakarta and several other airports on Sunday after Anak Krakatau volcano erupted, sending massive ash clouds across parts of western Indonesia. The volcano, located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, had shown increased activity since Friday before erupting for about 30 seconds at 3:53 a.m. Sunday. Camera footage showed lava flaring from the crater. No casualties were reported, and authorities did not order evacuations. However, residents and visitors were advised to stay at least 3 kilometers from the active crater. The nearest settlement is more than 16 kilometers away. Volcanic ash spread over parts of Jakarta and Lampung province, prompting AirNav Indonesia to close airspace around Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma airports, along with four other airports. By mid-afternoon, the disruption had affected 516 flight movements, including 202 at Soekarno-Hatta airport, impacting around 22,800 passengers. The airport was ordered to remain closed until at least 5:30 p.m. Flights at Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and in Medan were also affected. Satellite images detected two major ash clouds, with one rising to about 6,100 meters and another reaching around 15,200 meters. The ash spread across several provinces and nearby waters. Indonesia's Geological Agency said volcanic activity at Anak Krakatau has intensified since July, with Sunday's eruption the strongest during the current period of unrest. Officials said they could not predict whether a larger eruption might occur. Anak Krakatau, meaning “Child of Krakatau,” emerged from the site of the historic Krakatau volcano, whose devastating 1883 eruption had global consequences. In 2018, an eruption and subsequent underwater landslide triggered a tsunami that killed at least 430 people in Java and Sumatra.

  A fuel tanker exploded in western Iran, killing 11 people and injuring seven others, state media said. IRNA reported late Saturday that the tanker hit other cars before bursting into flames near a traffic police station close to the Kurdish city of Sanandaj, some 400 kilometers (248 miles) west of the capital, Tehran. The report cited a faulty brake system. The injured were transferred to hospitals. In 2018, a similar road accident between a fuel tanker and an intercity passenger bus near Sanandaj killed 15 people and injured four. Road and traffic accidents annually leave more than 17,000 dead in Iran. Experts blame the high fatality rate on unsafe vehicles, disregard for traffic rules, and inadequate emergency services.

The death toll from a mudslide in eastern China rose to three on Sunday after days of torrential rain triggered by Typhoon Saudel, while nine people remained missing. The mudslide struck part of a village in Suichuan County of Jiangxi province early Saturday, damaging around a dozen houses. Rescue workers recovered the bodies of two more victims on Sunday, according to state broadcaster CCTV. More than 5,300 people were moved to safer locations as heavy rain continued to affect parts of the region. Meanwhile, two people were killed in Hunan province in south-central China following heavy downpours linked to the typhoon, CCTV said. The report did not specify how they died but said the intense rainfall had triggered landslides and other disasters. Typhoon Saudel first made landfall twice in Zhejiang province on Aug. 28 before making a third landfall as a tropical storm in neighboring Fujian province on Sept. 3, according to China's official Xinhua news agency. Both Zhejiang and Fujian border Jiangxi province.