United News of Bangladesh

An earthquake centered in the mountains of west Nepal rocked the Himalayan nation in early Wednesday, killing at least six people while they were asleep in their houses, a government administrator said. The earthquake was felt as far as the the Indian capital New Delhi, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of the epicenter. Read: 3 dead after 7.6 quake hits Papua New Guinea Kalpana Shrestha, the chief officer of Doti district, said six people were killed when they were crushed in their houses in a remote, sparsely populated mountain village. Five more were injured. The earthquake around 2:12 a.m. local time sent people in the mountain villages panicking out of their houses and many spent the entire night out in the open, Shrestha said. She said security forces have been dispatched to the remote villages to help with the rescue effort. There were reports of houses damaged in many villages but no new reports of casualties. Read: Southwest China quake leaves 30 dead, triggers landslides Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center provided preliminary measurements of a 6.6 magnitude. The U.S. Geological Survey gave preliminary ratings of a 5.6 magnitude with a depth of 15.7 kilometers (9.8 miles) and its epicenter 21 km (13 miles) east of Dipayal. Earthquakes are common in mountainous Nepal, which is home to the tallest mountain. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 killed some 9,000 people and damaged around 1 million structures.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), has charged Imran Khan, former prime minister and head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), on Sunday (November 06, 2022) of “theatrics” in response to the shooting he encountered last week. The head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) claimed during a news conference that the former Pakistani prime minister is a much superior actor compared to Bollywood’s Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan, Pakistani news outlet The Express Tribune reported. Maulana Rehman was quoted as saying, “I don't understand his dramas, a joint investigation team should be formed on Imran Khan’s lies.” Read: March on Pakistani capital to resume Tuesday, says ex-PM Imran Khan He claimed that “a lie” is being spread about the shooting, saying that although he first condemned the incident, “things came to light” over time. The PDM chief remarked, “One shot, two shots, four shots or fragments; we have heard of bomb fragments, but bullet fragments we are hearing for the first time.” He also questioned the method by which a cancer hospital delivered bone treatment. He added that he discovered the existence of the jugular vein in the shin for the first time. Read: ‘Because I fell, one of the shooters thought I’d died, and left’: Imran Khan He added that whereas it took the marchers five to six days to go from Lahore to Gujranwala, it just took an hour after Imran was hit. Former Pakistan PM and PTI head Imran Khan used to refer to everyone as a thief, according to the PDM chief, “but he turned out to be one as well”.

In the 12 years that he has been the priest of a small temple by the mighty Brahmaputra, Ranajit Mandal had never witnessed the river’s fury like this. Not only the temple, but the 50 homes in his native Murkata village were washed away in a matter of days. “I feel like the earth has given way under my feet now. I have been the temple’s priest ever since it was built, I feel really lost now,” Mandal said. Read more: COP27 climate talks begin as world grapples with multiple crises

North Korea’s military said Monday its recent barrage of missile tests were practices to attack its rivals’ air bases and warplanes and paralyze their operation command systems, showing Pyongyang’s resolve to counter provocative U.S.-South Korean military drills “more thoroughly and mercilessly.” North Korea fired dozens of missiles and flew warplanes last week, triggering evacuation alerts in some South Korean and Japanese areas, in response to massive U.S.-South Korean air force drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal. U.S. and South Korean officials strongly condemned the North’s missile launches, saying their drills were defensive in nature. “The recent corresponding military operations by the Korean People’s Army are a clear answer of (North Korea) that the more persistently the enemies’ provocative military moves continue, the more thoroughly and mercilessly the KPA will counter them,” the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army said in a statement carried by state media. Read more: North Korea continues its bombardment of missiles with a potential ICBM It said its weapons tests involved ballistic missiles loaded with dispersion warheads and underground infiltration warheads meant to launch strikes on enemy air bases; ground-to-air missiles designed to “annihilate” enemy aircraft at different altitudes and distances; and strategic cruise missiles. The North’s military said it carried out an important test of a ballistic missile with a special functional warhead missioned with “paralyzing the operation command system of the enemy.” It said it also launched super-large, multiple-launch missiles and tactical ballistic missiles. It didn’t specifically mention a reported launch Thursday of an intercontinental ballistic missile aimed at hitting the U.S. mainland. Almost all other North’s missiles launched last week were likely short-range, many of them nuclear-capable weapons. They place key military targets in South Korea, including U.S. military bases there in striking range. “The KPA General Staff once again clarifies that it will continue to correspond with all the anti-(North Korea) war drills of the enemy with the sustained, resolute and overwhelming practical military measures,” it said. This year’s “Vigilant Storm” air force drills between the United States and South Korea were the largest-ever for the annual fall maneuvers. The drills involved 240 warplanes including advanced F-35 fighter jets from both countries. The allies were initially supposed to run the drills for five days ending on Friday, but extended the training by another day in reaction to the North’s missile tests. On Saturday, the final day of the air force exercises, the United States flew two B-1B supersonic bombers over South Korea in a display of strength against North Korea, the aircraft’s first such flyover since December 2017. Read more: N Korea fires 23 missiles, prompting air raid alert in South South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the participation of the B-1Bs in the joint drills demonstrated the allies’ readiness to “sternly respond” to North Korean provocations and the U.S. commitment to defend its ally with the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear. Even before the “Vigilant Storm” drills, North Korea test-launched a slew of missiles in what it called simulated nuclear attacks on U.S. and South Korean targets in protests of its rivals’ other sets of military exercises that involved a U.S. aircraft for the first time in five years. Some experts say North Korea likely aims to use the U.S.-South Korean military drills as a chance to modernize its nuclear arsenal and increase its leverage to wrest greater concessions from the United States in future dealings. U.S. and South Korean militaries have been expanding their regular military drills since the May inauguration of conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has promised to take a tougher stance on North Korean provocations. Some of the allies’ drills had been previously downsized or canceled to support now-stalled diplomacy on North Korea’s nuclear program and cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said Sunday that a protest march toward the capital, which was suspended after he was wounded by a gunshot in an apparent attempt on his life, will resume Tuesday. Sitting in a wheelchair, his right leg bandaged and elevated, Khan spoke from the Shaukat Khanum hospital, where he was admitted Thursday after he received bullet wounds in his right leg. Khan repeated his demand for an investigation into the shooting and the resignation of three powerful personalities in the government and the military whom he alleges were involved in staging the attack on him. Read more: ‘Because I fell, one of the shooters thought I’d died, and left’: Imran Khan Khan's march on the capital was suspended in Wazirabad, a district in eastern Punjab province, after a gunman opened fire, wounding him and killing one of his supporters. Thirteen others were hurt. He said the march would pick up again from Wazirabad. Khan was ousted from office in April in a no-confidence vote in parliament. He organized a march on Islamabad to pressure Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's government to hold early elections but Sharif says elections will take place as scheduled, in 2023. Khan led an initial protest march in May but it ended when supporters clashed with police in the capital. Khan’s protest march, which started Oct. 28, was peaceful until Thursday’s attack. The shooting has raised concerns about growing political instability in Pakistan, which has a history of political violence and assassinations. Khan said the march, to be resumed Tuesday, will take 10 to 15 days to reach Rawalpindi, where convoys from other parts of the country are expected to join the rally. He said he will keep in touch with the main march participants through a media link and will eventually lead the “sea of people’” toward Islamabad. Read more: Imran Khan accuses Pak army of recreating 1971-like situation Khan accused Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan and army Gen. Faisal Naseer of working with the Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's spy agency, to orchestrate the shooting. The minister and the former premier are not related. Khan offered no evidence for his allegations, which were rejected by Sharif’s government and the military spokesman said the allegations were not true. Khan was discharged from the hospital later Sunday and moved to his ancestral home in Lahore.

Imran Khan, former prime minister of Pakistan, has spoken in public for the first time since being shot while participating in a protest march in the eastern city of Wazirabad. Khan said that if the two gunmen he observed had “synchronized” their attack, he wouldn’t have survived. He was seated in a wheelchair in a Lahore hospital. Read: Imran Khan accuses Pak army of recreating 1971-like situation BBC News quotes the PTI chief as saying: “Because I fell, one of the shooters thought I had died, and left.” Khan was barred from running for public office by Pakistan’s election board last month in a case that the former all-star cricketer said was “politically motivated”. One of the men suspected of shooting him confessed on camera and told police that he “intended to murder him” because the former cricketer was “misleading” the public. Uncertainty surrounds the circumstances of the confession. Read More: Pakistan's ex-PM Imran Khan stable after shooting at anti-govt rally

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan Friday said what happened in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) is happening in his country now. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief drew comparisons to 1970, when the largest party, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman-led Awami League, was denied the right to form the government despite gaining the majority of seats in the general elections of December 7 – a watershed moment that later broke Pakistan. "What happened in East Pakistan? The military took action against the party which won the elections," Imran said in his first public remarks in a video broadcast on PTI's YouTube channel after narrowly escaping an assassination attempt during a long march in Punjab's Wazirabad Thursday. "The largest party won, but it was denied its rights; the same thing is happening here right now," the PTI chief added. Sitting in a wheelchair at a hospital in Lahore, the 70-year-old former international cricket star said he would not have survived the shooting if the two shooters he saw had "synchronised" their attack. One of Imran's supporters was killed and 13 others, including two lawmakers, were wounded in the attack. Read more: Rallies demonstrate Imran Khan’s political force Imran's protest march and rallies were peaceful until Thursday afternoon's attack, raising concerns about growing political instability in Pakistan, a country with a history of political violence and assassinations. He maintains that his April ouster from Parliament was unlawful and a conspiracy by his political opponents orchestrated by the US, a charge denied by both Washington and his successor Shehbaz Sharif. Imran wants the government to announce snap elections. He led the protest from Lahore beginning last Friday along with thousands of supporters, saying his protest will continue until his demands are accepted. Pakistan says elections will take place as scheduled in 2023. Read more: Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif condemns attack on Imran Khan    

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan is in a stable condition after being shot and wounded during a protest march, a senior leader from his party said Friday. Khan's protest march and rallies were peaceful until Thursday afternoon's attack, raising concerns about growing political instability in Pakistan, a country with a history of political violence and assassinations. One of Khan's supporters was killed and 13 others, including two lawmakers, were wounded in the attack. Read more: Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif condemns attack on Imran Khan “There is no doubt about it," said Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader from Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party. “We are convinced that it was a well-planned assassination attempt on Pakistan's most popular leader Imran Khan, who is now in stable condition at the Shaukat Khanum hospital in Lahore after undergoing surgery there.” He said the party leadership was meeting in Lahore later Friday. “We will announce today exactly when our march will resume from Wazirabad," Chaudhry told The Associated Press. He provided no further details, but Khan's party in a brief statement urged supporters to hold nationwide rallies to condemn the shooting. Asad Umar, a senior figure from Khan’s party, blamed the shooting on Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the country’s interior minister, and an army general without offering any evidence. The government called the allegation baseless, saying it has ordered a high-level probe and that the attacker is being questioned. Police are still questioning the alleged attacker, who is shown in a video saying he carried out the shooting and acted alone. The attack took place as the former cricket star-turned-politician was traveling in a large protest convoy of trucks and cars toward Islamabad. Video footage show him and his team ducking for cover on top of a vehicle as gunfire rings out. Read more: Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan wounded in firing at anti-govt rally Khan, 70, is likely to be allowed to go home soon, according to Faisal Sultan, who is heading the team of doctors who treated Khan. He told reporters Thursday that Khan's surgery continued for two hours, and he had a bullet wound in his right leg. He maintains that his April ouster from Parliament was unlawful and a conspiracy by his political opponents orchestrated by the United States, a charge denied by both Washington and Sharif. Khan wants the government to announce snap elections. He led the protest from Lahore beginning last Friday along with thousands of supporters, saying his protest will continue until his demands are accepted. Pakistan says elections will take place as scheduled in 2023. His supporters rallied overnight in different parts of the country after the shooting.

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that he conquered his fear of being assassinated when he joined politics. He said this during an interview with British journalist and broadcaster Piers Morgan in June this year. Morgan shared the video clip of the interview from his Twitter account after Khan was shot on Thursday. read more: Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan wounded in firing at anti-govt rally “When I entered politics, I actually conquered my fear of dying... Because I came to stand against the entire status quo. I came to fight corruption,” Imran Khan said in a reply to a question on whether he is scared of being assassinated. “My life has had various threats over a period of time but this time I found out about this conspiracy, so I went public. The reason is, I have no fear of dying. But it was important to let those guys who were planning, to let them know that I know, it was actually in a way a form of protection,” Khan added. Read more: Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif condemns attack on Imran Khan Earlier today, a gunman opened fire at a campaign truck carrying Imran Khan, wounding him in the leg and killing one of his supporters, his party and police said. Nine others were also wounded.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday condemned the firing on PTI Chairman Imran Khan 'in the strongest words', seeking immediate report on the attack. “I have directed the Interior Minister for an immediate report on the incident,” PM Shehbaz wrote from his verified Twitter account. He also prayed for the quick recovery of the former Prime Minister Imran Khan and other injured people. Read more:Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan wounded in firing at anti-govt rally Earlier in the day, a gunman opened fire at a campaign truck carrying Imran Khan, wounding him slightly and also some of his supporters, a senior leader from his party and police said. Party official Asad Umar said Khan was wounded in the leg and was not seriously hurt. The identity of the gunman, who was arrested at the scene, was not immediately known. No group has claimed responsibility for the shooting. According to police, the attack happened in the Wazirabad district in the eastern Punjab province where Khan was traveling in a large convoy of trucks and cars heading towards the capital, Islamabad, as part of his campaign aimed at forcing the government to hold early elections.