United News of Bangladesh

A court in Taiwan has sentenced the son of a former legislator to more than two years in prison for his role in illegally supplying thousands of tons of fuel oil to North Korea. The Kaohsiung District Court on Tuesday handed Huang Chung-wei a 28-month prison term, while five others were also given jail sentences. According to the verdict, they were involved in loading fuel onto vessels in Taiwan and transferring it at sea in coordination with Kwek Kee Seng, a Singaporean businessman wanted by the United States who remains at large. The court said the operation breached Taiwan’s Counter-Terrorism Financing Act and several other laws. North Korean and Russian leaders in call reaffirm their alignment over Ukraine Such ship-to-ship transfers are a key means for North Korea to secure fuel despite tough United Nations sanctions imposed on its nuclear and missile programs. Although not a UN member due to pressure from China, Taiwan has pledged to comply with the global body’s sanctions on Pyongyang. The case dates back to 2019, when Huang and Kwek allegedly purchased tankers, loaded them with fuel and carried out the transfers. U.S. intelligence agencies later tracked the shipments by satellite and tipped off investigators in Kaohsiung. Huang’s father was previously a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. It remains unclear how much Huang profited from the scheme or whether he plans to appeal.   Source: Agency

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met China’s top diplomat on Tuesday and hailed the “steady progress” made in improving the bilateral relationship after a yearslong standoff between the nuclear-armed Asian powers. Modi also noted “respect for each other’s interests and sensitiveness” in a statement on social media after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China’s foreign ministry said the countries have entered a “steady development track" and the countries should “trust and support” each other. Wang arrived in India on Monday and has met with Foreign Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as well as National Security Adviser Ajit Doval about the countries' disputed border in the Himalayan mountains. India's foreign ministry said Wang's meeting with Doval discussed “deescalation, delimitation and boundary affairs.” Relations plummeted in 2020 after security forces clashed along the border. The violence, the worst in decades, left 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers dead, freezing high-level political engagements. “The setbacks we experienced in the past few years were not in the interest of the people of our two countries. We are heartened to see the stability that is now restored in the borders,” Wang said Monday. Modi emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility on the border and reiterated India's commitment to a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question,” his office said in a statement. The rebuilding of India-China ties coincides with friction between New Delhi and Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on India, a longtime ally seen as a counterbalance against China's influence in Asia. India is part of the Quad security alliance with the U.S., along with Australia and Japan. ‘Compromise at the highest political level’ The chill in relations after the deadly clash in 2020 between troops in the Ladakh region affected trade, diplomacy and air travel, as both sides deployed tens of thousands of security forces in border areas. Some progress has been made since then. Last year, India and China agreed to a pact on border patrols and withdrew additional forces along some border areas. Both countries continue to fortify their border by building roads and rail networks. In recent months, the countries have increased official visits and discussed easing some trade restrictions, movement of citizens and visas for businesspeople. In June, Beijing allowed pilgrims from India to visit holy sites in Tibet. Both sides are working to restore direct flights. Last week, the spokesman for India’s foreign ministry, Randhir Jaiswal, said India and China were in discussions to restart trade through three points along their 3,488-kilometer (2,167-mile) border. “Settling the boundary issue between the two countries requires political compromise at the highest political level,” said Manoj Joshi, a fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank. He also served as a member of the advisory board for India’s National Security Council. Modi plans to visit China soon The thaw between Beijing and New Delhi began last October when Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at a summit of emerging economies in Russia. It was the first time the leaders had spoken in person since 2019. Modi is set to meet Xi when he travels to China late this month — his first visit in seven years — to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional grouping formed by China, Russia and others to counter U.S. influence in Asia. Earlier this year, Xi called for India and China’s relations to take the form of a “dragon-elephant tango” — a dance between the emblematic animals of the countries. Last month, India's external affairs minister visited Beijing in his first trip to China since 2020. The US and Pakistan play roles in the thaw The renewed engagement comes as New Delhi’s ties with Trump are fraying. Washington has imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, which includes a penalty of 25% for purchasing Russian crude oil. The tariffs take effect Aug. 27. India has shown no sign of backing down, instead signing more agreements with Russia to deepen economic cooperation. Trump’s renewed engagement with India’s arch rival, Pakistan, has also encouraged New Delhi’s overtures to China, said Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, who led the Indian military’s Northern Command from 2014 to 2016. In June, Trump hosted Pakistan's army chief for a White House lunch and later announced an energy deal with Islamabad to jointly develop the country’s oil reserves. Both followed Trump’s claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after the two sides traded military strikes in May. That clash saw Pakistan use Chinese-made military jets and missiles against India. “China is heavily invested in Pakistan and, practically speaking, you can’t have any expectation that Beijing will hold back support to Islamabad," Hooda said. “But you can’t have two hostile neighbors on your borders and simultaneously deal with them also.”  

Navigating a complex external environment and domestic weather challenges, China's economy has maintained solid expansion in July, demonstrating resilience and vitality, official data showed Friday. Key indicators for the past month, such as industrial production, retail sales, investment and foreign trade, continued to rise, while employment stayed generally stable, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Industrial production rose 5.7 percent year on year in July, NBS data revealed, with high-tech manufacturing leading with a 9.3 percent growth. Fixed-asset investment increased 1.6 percent year on year in the first seven months of 2025. Consumer spending, a priority on the country's economic work agenda this year, continued to gain momentum. Retail sales of consumer goods grew 4.8 percent year on year in the first seven months of this year, while retail sales of services expanded 5.2 percent. Retail sales of travel consulting and rental services, transportation services, and cultural, sports and leisure services all posted double-digit growth, according to the NBS. Noting continued pressures from trade protectionism and unilateralism, as well as short-term effects of extreme weather, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui said China's economy has made "steady progress," supported by more proactive macro policies and strengthening new growth drivers. The spokesperson highlighted that government policies to boost consumption, such as the consumer goods trade-in program, have continued to drive growth. Among major retailers, sales of household appliances and audio-visual equipment surged 28.7 percent year on year last month, while furniture sales rose 20.6 percent. Upgrade trends in consumption were also apparent, with sales of sports and entertainment goods as well as jewelry rising by 13.7 percent and 8.2 percent in July, respectively. Fu noted that new growth engines have been growing steadily. The production of new energy vehicles, integrated circuits, and industrial robots surged 32.9 percent, 10.4 percent and 32.9 percent year on year from January to July, respectively. Despite global uncertainties, China's foreign trade witnessed strong performance in July, with total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms up 6.7 percent year on year, 1.5 percentage points faster than in June. The resilience and strengths of China's foreign trade lie in the country's ever-deepening trade cooperation with countries across the world, as well as its highly competitive products and the vitality of foreign trade firms, Fu told the press. On the job front, the surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5.2 percent, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous month but still within the annual ceiling of around 5.5 percent in July. The rise was "a seasonal increase" due to factors including the graduation season, according to Fu. Employment among key groups remained generally stable. In July, the unemployment rate for rural migrant workers stood at 4.9 percent, below the national average urban unemployment rate. Fu cautioned that the foundation for economic recovery and improvement still needs to be consolidated, citing external instabilities and uncertainties, stronger supply over demand in the domestic market and emerging structural issues. However, he said the conditions and fundamental trends for long-term development remain unchanged, supported by growing market demand, the advancement of new quality productive forces, ongoing reforms and opening up, and the continued positive impact of government policies. Going forward, Fu said China will work to maintain the continuity and stability of policies while making them more flexible and predictable, and concentrate efforts on keeping employment, businesses, markets and expectations stable. China has targeted its full-year economic growth at around 5 percent this year. In the first half, the country's gross domestic product grew 5.3 percent year on year. Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said the chamber expects China to achieve its roughly 5 percent GDP growth target this year, particularly highlighting the potential in consumption. "It is encouraging to see that the rate of consumption in China is increasing," Eskelund said in a recent interview with Xinhua. "A number of consumer-facing segments in China's economy are relatively nascent and have huge growth potential."

Torrential rains have triggered flash floods in India and Pakistan, killing more than 200 people and leaving scores missing over the past 24 hours, officials said Friday. In Indian-controlled Kashmir, at least 60 people died and 80 others went missing after a powerful cloudburst on Thursday swept through Chositi village in Kishtwar district, also injuring over 50. Around 300 people were rescued before operations were halted overnight. Authorities evacuated nearly 4,000 stranded pilgrims and suspended an annual Hindu pilgrimage to a 3,000-meter-high shrine. The floods destroyed a community kitchen serving pilgrims, washed away vehicles and damaged dozens of homes. Cloudbursts, sudden intense downpours over small areas, have become more frequent in India’s Himalayan regions and Pakistan’s northern areas, with experts blaming climate change and unplanned development. Flash floods in Kashmir kill 56, dozens missing after cloudburst In Pakistan, flash floods killed at least 164 people in the past 24 hours, including 78 in northwest Buner district, where a state of emergency was declared. A helicopter carrying relief supplies to Bajaur region crashed in bad weather, killing all five on board, including two pilots. Authorities said at least 35 people remain missing in flood-hit Pakistani regions. Rescuers evacuated nearly 2,000 tourists from northern and northwestern areas after landslides and flooding cut off roads, including parts of the Karakoram Highway. Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said over 477 people have died in rain-related incidents since June 26. Fresh alerts have been issued for glacial lake outburst flooding in the north. Leaders in both countries expressed condolences and pledged swift relief efforts.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan on Friday that India would respond forcefully to any future attacks, as the country marked its 78th Independence Day. Addressing the nation from the historic Red Fort, Modi said India has adopted a “new normal” of no distinction between “terrorists” and their supporters, rejecting what he called Islamabad’s “nuclear blackmail.” He declared that such threats would no longer be tolerated. The remarks come three months after India and Pakistan fought their fiercest clashes in decades, sparked by an April massacre in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 26 people. India blamed Pakistan-based militants; Islamabad denied involvement. The May fighting, involving airstrikes, missile barrages, and drone attacks, killed dozens on both sides before a U.S.-brokered ceasefire on May 10. India's Modi marks the opening of a strategic tunnel in disputed Kashmir Modi also hinted at continuing India’s suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, saying, “Blood and water will not flow together.” Pakistan has warned that blocking river flows would be seen as an act of war. Without directly addressing U.S. tariffs on India, Modi vowed not to compromise on agricultural interests in trade talks with Washington. Source: Agency 

At least 56 people have died and scores remain missing after torrential rains triggered flash floods and landslides in a remote village of India-controlled Kashmir, officials said Thursday. The disaster struck Chositi village in Kishtwar district following a cloudburst, sweeping away homes, vehicles and a community kitchen serving more than 200 Hindu pilgrims. Disaster management official Mohammed Irshad said around 80 people were still missing, with the toll likely to rise. More than 300 people have been rescued, while at least 50 seriously injured victims are being treated in hospitals. The annual pilgrimage to a shrine 8km from the village has been suspended. Massive mudslide kills 7 volunteers repairing flood damage in Northern Pakistan Rescue teams from police, disaster services and security forces are battling difficult terrain, with more heavy rain forecast. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the situation is being monitored closely and promised all possible assistance. Cloudbursts, sudden intense downpours over small areas, are becoming more frequent in India’s Himalayan region, with experts blaming climate change and unplanned development. Source: Agency 

Indian Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi expressed his gratitude to the Election Commission for a “unique experience” after having tea Wednesday with seven voters from Bihar who had been marked as 'dead' following the controversial ‘special intensive revision’ of the state’s electoral list. "I have had many interesting experiences... but never before have I had tea with 'dead people'. For this unique experience, thank you Election Commission!" he said on X. Rahuld Gandhi shared a four-minute video of his interaction with the seven affected voters, asking them how they discovered they had been declared 'dead'. One voter said he only learned about it when the poll panel released a draft list of 6.5 million excluded names, reports NDTV. "But I am alive... I have come to declare I am not dead," he told Gandhi, adding, "And sir, in one panchayat, there are at least 50 others who are not 'dead'." He was also informed that others in a similar situation had not yet attended the meeting. "They are from Raghopur (RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's seat) ... there is a flood there," another man said, pointing out an 85-year-old who had also been declared 'dead'. "They were removed despite having completed the paperwork for re-verification," explained a party worker accompanying them, adding, "They have not published names of people declared 'dead'." "This is not a clerical error - it is political disenfranchisement in plain sight," the Congress said. Among those present was a frail elderly woman who had spent hours at the Supreme Court during the voter list hearing. Rahul Gandhi assured the group he would not allow 'vote chori', a rallying cry of the opposition ahead of the Bihar polls and a Supreme Court case regarding the EC’s ‘special intensive revision’, which could have major legal implications for elections in Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam next year, and Uttar Pradesh in 2027. Rahul Gandhi has accused the poll panel and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of colluding to commit voter fraud, citing previous incidents in Karnataka and Maharashtra, and warning of a repeat in Bihar. The EC has rejected the allegations and asked Mr. Gandhi, who was detained by Delhi Police during a street protest, to submit evidence along with a signed affidavit. In a sharp response Friday, the EC claimed the Congress was attempting to "mislead" the public, referring to a 2018 Supreme Court case involving veteran politician Kamal Nath.  

Flash floods caused by torrential rains in a remote village in India-controlled Kashmir have left at least 44 people dead and dozens missing, authorities said Thursday, as rescue teams scouring the devastated Himalayan village brought at least 200 people to safety. Following a cloudburst in the region’s Chositi village, which triggered floods and landslides, disaster management official Mohammed Irshad estimated that at least 50 people were still missing, with many believed to have been washed away. India’s deputy minister for science and technology, Jitendra Singh, warned that the disaster “could result in substantial" loss of life. Susheel Kumar Sharma, a local official, said that at least 50 seriously injured people are being treated in local hospitals. Many were rescued from a stream filled with mud and debris. Chositi is a remote Himalayan village in Kashmir’s Kishtwar district and is the last village accessible to motor vehicles on the route of an ongoing annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountainous shrine at an altitude of 3,000 meters (9,500 feet) and about an 8-kilometer (5-mile) trek from the village. Multiple pilgrims were also feared to be affected by the disaster. Officials said that the pilgrimage had been suspended and more rescue teams were on the way to the area to strengthen rescue and relief operations. The pilgrimage began on July 25 and was scheduled to end on Sept. 5. The first responders to the disaster were villagers and local officials who were later joined by police and disaster management officials, as well as personnel from India’s military and paramilitary forces, Sharma said. Abdul Majeed Bichoo, a local resident and a social activist from a neighboring village, said that he witnessed the bodies of eight people being pulled out from under the mud. Three horses, which were also completely buried alongside them under debris, were “miraculously recovered alive,” he said. The 75-year-old Bichoo said Chositi village had become a “sight of complete devastation from all sides” following the disaster. “It was heartbreaking and an unbearable sight. I have not seen this kind of destruction of life and property in my life,” he said. The devastating floods swept away the main community kitchen set up for the pilgrims as well as dozens of vehicles and motorbikes, officials said. They added that more than 200 pilgrims were in the kitchen when the tragedy struck. The flash floods also damaged and washed away many homes, clustered together in the foothills. Photos and videos circulating on social media showed extensive damage caused in the village with multiple vehicles and homes damaged. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that “the situation is being monitored closely” and offered his prayers to “all those affected by the cloudburst and flooding.” “Rescue and relief operations are underway. Every possible assistance will be provided to those in need,” he said in a social media post. Sudden, intense downpours over small areas known as cloudbursts are increasingly common in India’s Himalayan regions, which are prone to flash floods and landslides. Cloudbursts have the potential to wreak havoc by causing intense flooding and landslides, impacting thousands of people in the mountainous regions. Experts say cloudbursts have increased in recent years partly because of climate change, while damage from the storms also has increased because of unplanned development in mountain regions. Kishtwar is home to multiple hydroelectric power projects, which experts have long warned pose a threat to the region's fragile ecosystem.

Pakistan has unveiled plans to create a new Army Rocket Force to oversee missile operations and enhance conventional combat capabilities, following challenges faced during the recent cross-border clashes with India. Modeled on China’s People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF), the command aims to strengthen Pakistan’s missile and rocket capabilities. During the four-day mini-war in May, both sides deployed drones, missiles, and loitering munitions, including Pakistan’s Chinese-made PL-15 and India’s BrahMos, Akash, and Russian S-400 systems. Most of Pakistan’s missiles were intercepted by Indian air defenses. India says 3 militants killed in Kashmir linked to massacre that triggered Pakistan clash Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the new force at a ceremony in Islamabad on the eve of Pakistan’s Independence Day, saying it would be equipped with modern technology and mark a milestone in boosting the army’s combat strength. Further details were not disclosed. Source: Agency 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin have pledged to further strengthen their ties and cooperation in the war against Ukraine, according to state media reports from both countries on Wednesday. The two leaders spoke by phone on Tuesday, days before Putin’s planned meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska. During the call, Putin praised the “bravery, heroism and self-sacrificing spirit” of North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region, North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Russia’s TASS news agency, citing the Kremlin, reported that Putin briefed Kim on his upcoming talks with Trump, scheduled for Friday in Alaska. KCNA’s account of the conversation did not mention the Trump meeting. Trump praises Intel CEO’s ‘amazing story’ days after demanding his resignation Kim expressed “full support” for all future measures by Russia’s leadership and discussed expanding cooperation “in all fields” under a strategic partnership agreement signed during their summit last year, KCNA said. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kim has prioritized strengthening relations with Moscow to break out of diplomatic isolation and align with countries challenging Washington. His government has rejected U.S. and South Korean calls to resume stalled talks on denuclearization, which collapsed in 2019 after a failed summit with Trump during his first term. South Korean intelligence estimates that North Korea has sent about 15,000 troops to Russia since last fall, along with large shipments of artillery and ballistic missiles, to support Moscow’s war effort. Pyongyang has also agreed to send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to the Kursk region, a deployment Seoul believes could take place soon.