United News of Bangladesh

Veteran British politician Lord Peter Mandelson has resigned from the Labour Party, saying he does not want to further embarrass the party following renewed controversy over his past links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In a letter to Labour’s general secretary, Mandelson said he was “regretful and sorry” after being named in newly released documents by the US Department of Justice. The files, made public on Friday, appear to reference three payments of $25,000 each allegedly connected to Mandelson in 2003 and 2004. Mandelson said allegations that Epstein made financial payments to him around two decades ago were false, adding that he has no record or recollection of receiving such money. He said he would look into the matter but decided to step down from party membership in the meantime to avoid causing further damage to Labour. In his letter, Mandelson again apologised to the women and girls abused by Epstein, saying their voices should have been heard much earlier. He said his resignation was taken in what he believed to be the Labour Party’s best interests, stressing his long-standing commitment to its values. Earlier, Mandelson said he could not confirm the authenticity of the newly released documents but repeated his regret for having known Epstein and for maintaining contact after Epstein’s 2008 conviction. He offered an “unequivocal” apology to the victims. Labour MP Gordon McKee said Epstein’s victims would be “rightly outraged” by the latest revelations and said Mandelson had taken the correct step by resigning. The Conservative Party criticised Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, saying Mandelson should have been expelled rather than allowed to resign, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called for his suspension and a formal investigation. Housing Secretary Steve Reed said the government had not been aware of the alleged financial links when questioned by the media. Mandelson, a prominent Labour strategist and former cabinet minister, was appointed UK ambassador to the United States in December 2024 but was removed from the post less than a year later following earlier disclosures about his association with Epstein. He has remained on leave from the House of Lords since his ambassadorial appointment. The newly released files include bank records, first reported by the Financial Times, that appear to show three payments referencing Mandelson. One payment in May 2003 was sent to a Barclays account linked to Reinaldo Avila da Silva, identified as Mandelson’s partner at the time, while two further payments were made to HSBC accounts in June 2004. It is unclear whether the funds were ultimately received. The documents also include redacted images showing Mandelson standing next to a woman, as well as emails indicating he remained in contact with Epstein after his conviction. Mandelson has said he cannot recall the circumstances of the photograph and stressed that being named or pictured in the files does not imply wrongdoing. Epstein was convicted in 2008 in the United States on charges including soliciting underage girls and later died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The latest disclosures form part of the largest release so far of Epstein-related records under a US law mandating their publication.   With inputs from BBC

Russian forces have captured the village of Toretsk in Donetsk and Petrovka in Zaporizhzhia, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday. In a statement, the ministry said the Russian army also targeted Ukrainian transport infrastructure, ammunition depots, and temporary deployment sites of Ukrainian forces and foreign mercenaries at 138 locations. Russian air defense reportedly shot down four guided aerial bombs, one U.S.-made HIMARS rocket, and 47 fixed-wing drones in the past 24 hours.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Kyiv aims to inflict losses on Russian forces at a scale that exceeds Moscow’s monthly reinforcements, outlining a strategy he believes could weaken Russia’s military capacity and shift the balance in the nearly four-year-old war. Addressing military personnel, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian units should ensure Russian losses surpass the number of troops Moscow can deploy each month, describing 50,000 losses as the optimal level to achieve that goal. He said recent battlefield assessments showed a steady rise in Russian casualties, including killed and severely wounded soldiers no longer able to return to combat. Ukraine’s military leadership estimates tens of thousands of Russian troops were killed or incapacitated in December alone. Kyiv claims Russia has suffered more than one million casualties since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, though such figures cannot be independently verified. The war remains largely stalemated, with Russian forces struggling to make significant territorial gains despite sustained offensives in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian commanders say their troops continue to hold key cities in the Donetsk region, while countering Russian attempts to advance using small assault groups. Zelenskyy said drone warfare has become central to Ukraine’s strategy, with unmanned systems now striking the majority of targets on the battlefield. He said domestic drone production has expanded rapidly, supported by incentive schemes that reward operators and frontline troops for confirmed hits and the destruction of Russian equipment. The president recently appointed a new defence minister with a background in digital innovation, tasking him with accelerating drone manufacturing and strengthening international technological cooperation. Meanwhile, Russia has continued heavy drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure, leaving large numbers of households without electricity and heating during winter. Ukrainian authorities said repair crews were working around the clock, while international partners have provided generators and emergency support. Ceasefire talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States have so far failed to produce a breakthrough, with Moscow showing no willingness to compromise on territorial demands. Zelenskyy has warned that without stronger military pressure and firm security guarantees, prospects for a negotiated settlement remain remote.   With inputs from ALJAZEERA

Health authorities in Spain’s Basque Country have launched an investigation after 253 patients, mostly infants, received expired doses of the childhood hexavalent vaccine, officials said Thursday. The Basque public health service, Osakidetza, detected the issue on January 15 and has begun contacting the affected families. Basque Health Minister Alberto Martinez said consultations with the national medicines agency AEMPS, the Basque Vaccine Advisory Council, and the manufacturer confirmed that the expired vaccines pose no health risk. However, Martinez acknowledged the incident as “serious” and issued an apology to families. He added that an internal probe has been opened to identify the supply chain lapse and implement measures to prevent recurrence. The hexavalent vaccine protects children against six diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, Hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae type B. While the Basque Country manages local health services, the central Spanish government oversees national medicine regulations through AEMPS. Officials stressed that day-to-day management and responses to local incidents remain under Basque control, and corrective actions are being taken to maintain vaccine safety standards.   With inputs from ALJAZEERA

Spain plans to grant legal status to around 500,000 undocumented migrants, a move drawing attention from countries including Bangladesh as it contrasts sharply with tougher immigration policies in parts of Europe and the United States. Spanish Migration Minister Elma Saiz said beneficiaries will be able to work in any sector across the country and emphasized the “positive impact” of migration. “We are talking about estimations, probably more or less the figures may be around half a million people,” she added, saying the government was “recognising” and giving dignity to people already in Spain. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez cited the country’s need for migration to fill workforce gaps and support an ageing population, which places pressure on pensions and social welfare. Laetitia Van der Vennet, of the Platform for Undocumented Immigrants NGO, praised Spain’s approach as a humane alternative amid rising anti-migrant sentiment in Europe and the US, reports Al Jazeera . Starmer and Xi seek closer UK-China relations as global order faces strain Ousman Umar, a Ghanaian migrant who overcame perilous journeys to Spain and now runs an NGO for children in Ghana, said the policy will benefit both migrants and Spanish society.  “It will allow people to work legally, pay taxes, and contribute to the pension system in a country with a low birthrate and a growing elderly population,” he said.

Lawmakers in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt on Wednesday elected Sven Schulze as the new governor, aiming to prevent a victory for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in a regional election due in September. Schulze, 46, a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), replaces long-serving governor Reiner Haseloff, 71, who has led the state of about 2.2 million people since 2011. Haseloff had originally planned to serve his full term. But with rising support for the AfD, he announced he would step down early, allowing Schulze, the state’s former economy minister, to gain visibility ahead of the Sept. 6 election. The AfD, Germany’s second-largest party in the federal parliament, is strongest in the poorer eastern states. Its main focus is opposition to migration, but it also taps into frustration over economic issues. Mainstream parties refuse to cooperate with AfD. In past elections, popular incumbent governors in eastern states, including Haseloff in 2021, managed to defeat AfD challenges. By stepping down early, Haseloff gives Schulze a better chance to consolidate support before the vote. So far, AfD has led in one state election, in Thuringia in 2024, but has not yet taken power at the state level.

A court in the Netherlands on Tuesday sentenced an Eritrean man to the maximum 20 years in prison after convicting him of leading a people-smuggling and extortion network that subjected migrants to what judges described as cruel and degrading abuse. The Overijssel District Court found Tewelde Goitom, also known as Amanuel Walid, guilty of running a criminal organization that transported migrants from Libya across the Mediterranean toward Europe and extorted large sums of money from their families, including relatives living in the Netherlands. Judges dismissed Goitom’s claim that he had been mistaken for another person, rejecting arguments from the defense that witnesses had wrongly identified him as a key figure in the smuggling network. Presiding Judge René Melaard said the case was “exceptionally serious,” citing both the scale of the crimes and the suffering inflicted on vulnerable migrants. “On the one hand, because of the gross undermining of Dutch and European immigration policy, but on the other, and especially, because of the particularly cruel, violent and degrading treatment to which you and your accomplices subjected the migrants,” Melaard said. “You, along with your accomplices, were merciless, unscrupulous, and devoid of regard for human dignity in your treatment” of migrants, he added, saying the abuse was carried out “apparently solely to extort as much money as possible from vulnerable and helpless people seeking a better future.” North Korea fires suspected ballistic missiles into sea, regional officials say Goitom, 42, was also ordered to pay more than 30,000 euros, about $35,000, in compensation to victims. He has two weeks to file an appeal. According to the court, migrants were held in camps in Libya, where they were abused and forced to contact family members who were pressured to send money to secure their relatives’ passage to Europe. Only after payments were made were migrants allowed to leave the camps and continue their journeys. The International Criminal Court prosecutor’s office welcomed the ruling in a post on X, noting that it had shared evidence in the case as part of a joint investigation into crimes against migrants in Libya. The ICC is conducting an ongoing probe into alleged crimes committed there. At the start of the trial in November, Goitom told judges he was the victim of mistaken identity. He was extradited to the Netherlands in 2022 from Ethiopia, where he had previously been convicted of similar offenses. Proceedings against Goitom were delayed due to the extradition of another suspect, Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam, who fled during a trial in Ethiopia in 2020. Often described as one of the world’s most wanted human traffickers, Habtemariam was extradited from the United Arab Emirates to the Netherlands in late December and is expected to face trial at a later date. Habtemariam had been convicted in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment in Ethiopia after escaping from custody while on trial for people-smuggling charges. Dutch prosecutors say both men can be tried in the Netherlands because parts of their alleged criminal activities took place there, including the extortion of money from relatives of migrants living in the country. At least 6,126 killed in Iran protests, activists say Goitom’s defense lawyers disputed that claim. “There is no clear connection to the Netherlands,” lawyer Simcha Plas argued, saying payments were made in Eritrea or through the UAE and that Dutch courts lacked jurisdiction. The judges rejected that argument, convicting Goitom on multiple counts of complicity in people smuggling and extortion. He was acquitted in relation to two migrants after the court found the evidence insufficient.

Leaked files from Interpol have revealed that Russia has allegedly been abusing the international policing agency’s wanted lists to pursue critics living abroad, including political opponents, journalists and business figures, according to an investigation by the BBC World Service and French outlet Disclose. Thousands of documents provided by an Interpol whistleblower indicate that Moscow has repeatedly sought arrest requests through red notices and red diffusions, often claiming ordinary criminal offences against individuals who critics say are being targeted for political reasons. Analysis of the leaked data shows that over the past decade, Interpol’s independent complaints body, the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF), received more complaints related to Russia than any other country. The number was nearly three times higher than the next country on the list, Turkey. The data also suggests that complaints against Russian requests were overturned more frequently than those from any other nation. Interpol tightened scrutiny of Russian requests after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, the leaked documents suggest those measures failed to prevent continued misuse, and some additional safeguards were quietly eased in 2025, according to the whistleblower. One of those affected is Igor Pestrikov, a Russian businessman who fled the country in 2022 and later discovered he was placed on an Interpol wanted list. He said the notice disrupted his life, freezing bank accounts and forcing his family to relocate. After nearly two years, Interpol’s watchdog ruled his case was predominantly political and cancelled the request. The files also show Russia used Interpol’s internal messaging system to seek information on critics even when formal arrest requests were denied. Among them was journalist Armen Aramyan, who fled Russia after being convicted over reporting linked to opposition protests. Interpol said it has strengthened safeguards against misuse and denied prioritising police cooperation over preventing abuse. Russia’s interior ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Legal experts said the revelations highlight long-standing weaknesses in Interpol’s system and called for tougher action, including suspending countries found to be repeatedly abusing its mechanisms.   With inputs from BBC

Ukraine has condemned a fresh wave of Russian attacks that killed one person and injured 23 others overnight, as peace talks with Russia and the United States resumed in Abu Dhabi. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the strikes as “brutal” and said the attacks hit not only civilians but also the peace process. He said the assault showed Russia was not serious about negotiations. According to officials, one person was killed and four others were wounded in drone attacks on the capital Kyiv. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, 19 people were injured during heavy overnight strikes, local authorities said. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said three of the injured were taken to hospital. He also said critical infrastructure was damaged, leaving about 6,000 buildings without heating as temperatures remain below freezing. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia mainly targeted energy facilities during the attacks. In Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a maternity hospital and a shelter for displaced people were damaged. The attacks came as delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the US held a second day of talks in Abu Dhabi, the first known trilateral discussions since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said the talks focused on ways to end the war and move toward a lasting and dignified peace. However, Ukrainian officials said the key issue of territory remains unresolved. Russia currently controls about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, including parts of the eastern Donbas region. Moscow wants Ukraine to give up more land, a demand Kyiv has rejected.   With inputs from BBC

Russian strikes on Ukraine killed at least one person and injured 23 others overnight into Saturday, as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States met in Abu Dhabi for a second day of talks aimed at ending Russia’s nearly four-year full-scale invasion. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said one person was killed and four others wounded in Russian drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, drone strikes injured 19 people, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported Saturday. The attacks coincided with the continuation of three-way talks in the United Arab Emirates, marking the first known instance of officials from the Trump administration engaging directly with both countries to push for progress toward ending the conflict. The UAE foreign ministry said the talks are intended “to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis,” while the White House called Friday’s first day productive. Diplomatic activity has intensified in recent days, from Switzerland to Moscow, although major obstacles remain, particularly regarding territorial issues. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a Davos forum on Thursday that a potential peace deal is “nearly ready,” but key sticking points remain unresolved. Just hours before the talks began, Russian President Vladimir Putin held overnight discussions with Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on a Ukraine settlement. The Kremlin maintains that Kyiv must withdraw its troops from areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but has yet to fully control for any deal to succeed.