United News of Bangladesh

U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a 1.5-trillion-U.S.-dollar military budget for 2027 on social media on Wednesday, a sharp increase from 2026's 901 billion dollars, fueling concerns about the potential eruption of wars. In a post on his social media platform, Trump said after “long and difficult negotiations” with lawmakers and officials that the expanded budget would allow the United States to build the “Dream Military” capable of keeping the country “safe and secure, regardless of foe.” He claimed anticipated revenue from tariffs made the higher figure possible. Critics have warned that such a large increase raises the risk of escalating global military tensions and could fuel fears of major conflict. Defence analysts and budget experts also question whether Congress will approve the unprecedented rise and how the spending would be financed, noting that tariff receipts are unlikely to fully cover the additional costs. Trump’s proposal arrives amid heightened U.S. military activity abroad, including the recent operation that captured Venezuela’s leader and discussions about regional strategic moves. Any change to military spending will require congressional approval before it can take effect.

 The Trump administration has decided to withdraw the United States from scores of international organizations, including the UN population agency and the UN framework that underpins global climate negotiations, marking a deeper step away from multilateral cooperation.   President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order halting US backing for 66 international organizations, agencies and commissions. The move follows a comprehensive review of US participation in and funding for global bodies, including those linked to the United Nations, the White House said.   A significant number of the affected entities are UN-affiliated agencies, commissions and advisory groups working on climate change, labor rights, migration and related issues. The administration has labeled many of these efforts as tied to diversity-focused or “woke” agendas. The list also includes several non-UN bodies, such as the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, and the Global Counterterrorism Forum.   “The Trump Administration has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.   The withdrawals come at a time when the administration has taken assertive foreign policy steps that have unsettled both allies and rivals, including military actions and threats, such as the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and statements suggesting a desire to take control of Greenland.   The decision builds on an existing pattern of disengagement from global institutions. Earlier, the administration suspended support for bodies including the World Health Organization, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the UN Human Rights Council and UNESCO. It has also adopted a selective approach to funding the UN system, choosing to pay for agencies and operations it believes align with Trump’s priorities while cutting off those seen as contrary to US interests.   “I think what we’re seeing is the crystallization of the U.S. approach to multilateralism, which is ‘my way or the highway,’” said Daniel Forti, head of UN affairs at the International Crisis Group. “It’s a very clear vision of wanting international cooperation on Washington’s own terms.”   The shift represents a sharp departure from how previous Republican and Democratic administrations engaged with the United Nations and has forced the organization, already undergoing internal reforms, to implement staffing reductions and program cutbacks.   Several independent non-governmental organizations, including those working closely with the UN, have reported shutting down projects following the administration’s earlier decision to significantly reduce foreign aid through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).   Despite the broad pullback, officials in the Trump administration maintain that they still recognize the value of the United Nations. They say US funding should instead be directed toward strengthening American influence in key UN standard-setting bodies where competition with China is intense, such as the International Telecommunications Union, the International Maritime Organization and the International Labor Organization.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a Minneapolis motorist on Wednesday — a shooting that federal officials claimed was an act of self-defense but that the city’s mayor described as “reckless” and unnecessary. A hospital record obtained by The Associated Press identified the woman as 37-year-old Renae Macklin-Good, though business records spelled her name as Renee Nicole Macklin Good. Calls and messages to the woman’s family were not immediately returned. In social media accounts, Macklin Good described herself as a “Poet and writer and wife and mom” who was from Colorado and currently “experiencing Minneapolis,” and displayed a pride flag emoji. A profile picture shows her smiling and holding a young child against her cheek. Her killing quickly drew a crowd of hundreds of angry protesters. This is at least the fifth death to result from the aggressive U.S. immigration crackdown President Donald Trump’s administration launched last year. Here’s what we know: What the videos show: Videos taken by bystanders with different vantage points and posted to social media show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward and a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots into the vehicle at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him. It was not clear from the videos if the vehicle made contact with the officer. The SUV then sped into two cars parked on a curb nearby before crashing to a stop. Witnesses screamed obscenities, expressing shock at what they’d seen.What officials have said: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the officer shot the woman in self-defense after she “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle,” which Noem described as an “act of domestic terrorism.” President Trump took to social media to criticize the woman. But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey blasted Noem’s characterization as “garbage” and called on the federal agents to leave. The city’s police chief, Brian O’Hara, briefly described the shooting to reporters but gave no indication that the driver was trying to harm anyone. Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said state authorities would investigate the shooting with federal authorities.Updates take time: Compiling accurate and thorough information on breaking news takes time. Reporters are working to piece together the details from eyewitness accounts, authorities and other sources.          

Denmark and Greenland have sought talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the Trump administration again asserted its desire to take control of Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory of strategic importance in the Arctic. The move comes amid rising tensions after the White House said this week that the use of the US military “is always an option,” prompting strong pushback from European leaders who rejected President Donald Trump’s renewed calls for a US takeover of the island. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned earlier that any attempt by the United States to take over Greenland would effectively signal the collapse of the NATO military alliance. “The Nordics do not make such statements lightly,” said Maria Martisiute, a defence analyst at the European Policy Centre. She said Trump’s forceful language, which she described as bordering on intimidation, was unprecedented between NATO allies. Leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom joined Frederiksen in a joint statement on Tuesday, stressing that Greenland “belongs to its people” and reaffirming the island’s sovereignty. Greenland is a self-governing territory under Denmark and therefore part of NATO. Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of acquiring Greenland since his first term, arguing that control over the world’s largest island is vital for US security, particularly as China and Russia expand their presence in the Arctic. Recent US military action in Venezuela has intensified concern across Europe, while Trump and his advisers have in recent days reiterated the president’s interest in Greenland, which sits at a key strategic point guarding Arctic and North Atlantic access to North America. “It’s so strategic right now,” Trump told reporters on Sunday. According to a statement posted on Greenland’s government website, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt have formally requested a meeting with Rubio in the near future. The statement said earlier attempts to arrange such a meeting were unsuccessful. While most Republican lawmakers have backed Trump’s stance, US Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis, the Democratic and Republican co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group, criticised the president’s remarks. They said the United States must respect Denmark’s sovereignty and honour its treaty obligations, warning that any attempt to pressure a fellow NATO ally would undermine the alliance’s core principles of self-determination. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he discussed the issue by phone with Rubio on Tuesday, adding that the US secretary of state dismissed any suggestion of a Venezuela-style operation in Greenland. “There is strong support in the United States for NATO,” Barrot said, noting that such membership would be jeopardised by any aggressive move against another alliance member. Asked whether France has contingency plans if Trump pursues control of Greenland, Barrot said he would not engage in what he called “fiction diplomacy.”   

Russian officials signaled in 2019 that they might be willing to ease their support for Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela if the United States allowed Russia a freer hand in Ukraine, former Trump national security adviser Fiona Hill told lawmakers, according to newly circulating accounts of her testimony. Hill said during a 2019 congressional hearing that Russian officials repeatedly floated a “very strange swap arrangement between Venezuela and Ukraine,” largely through public commentary and media, rather than formal diplomatic offers. They reportedly referenced the Monroe Doctrine, suggesting the U.S. should stay out of Europe’s affairs if Russia withdrew from what it viewed as America’s sphere of influence. Moscow’s then-ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, hinted that Russia would permit the United States to act freely in Venezuela if Washington reciprocated by not interfering in Ukraine, Hill said. She was dispatched to Moscow in 2019 to reject the proposal, telling Russian officials that “Ukraine and Venezuela are not related to each other.” At the time, the Trump administration supported Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president. Hill’s remarks have resurfaced on social media following the U.S. military operation that ousted Maduro earlier this month and complexifies perceptions of great-power rivalry. Hill has warned that recent U.S. actions could undermine Western criticism of Russia’s designs on Ukraine by normalizing interventionist behavior. The Trump administration contends its action in Venezuela is a lawful law enforcement operation. The Russian Foreign Ministry has condemned U.S. “aggression,” but President Vladimir Putin has not publicly commented on Hill’s account. 

The man responsible for killing two Brown University students and an MIT professor had been planning the attacks for several years and left behind video recordings in which he admitted to the shootings without explaining his motive, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday. The shooter, identified as Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a former Brown student and Portuguese national, was found dead in a storage facility in New Hampshire on Dec. 18. Authorities said he carried out a shooting at a Brown University engineering building on Dec. 13, killing two students and wounding nine others, before fatally shooting MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro two days later at the professor’s home in Brookline, Massachusetts. Federal investigators said they recovered an electronic device from the storage unit containing short videos recorded by Neves Valente after the attacks. In the recordings, he acknowledged planning the shootings for at least six academic semesters but offered no reason for targeting Brown University or Loureiro, whom he had known decades earlier while studying in Portugal. In the videos, Neves Valente said he felt no remorse and denied claims circulating online that he had spoken Arabic or made religious statements during the attack. He said he did not intend to issue a manifesto and insisted he was not mentally ill. Authorities said the victims at Brown were shot at random. The students killed were 19-year-old sophomore Ella Cook and 18-year-old freshman MukhammadAziz Umurzokov. Neves Valente also described being confronted by a witness at Brown whose information later helped police identify him. He said he was surprised it took authorities several days to locate him. Brown University said the tragedy continues to weigh heavily on its community as it mourns the victims and supports those injured.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Venezuela would supply between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States at prevailing market prices, saying the proceeds would be used for the benefit of both countries. The announcement comes as the White House prepares to host senior executives from major U.S. energy companies later this week to discuss Venezuela’s oil sector and the possibility of expanding American investment in the country’s struggling energy industry. Trump’s comments followed a weekend U.S. military operation in Caracas that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Venezuelan authorities said at least 24 security personnel were killed in the overnight raid, while the country’s attorney general said prosecutors are investigating what he described as possible war crimes. Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, rejected Trump’s warnings that she could face consequences if she fails to comply with U.S. demands, saying her destiny “is not decided by threats.” Cuba also confirmed that dozens of its military and police personnel stationed in Venezuela were killed during the operation. The Pentagon said seven U.S. service members were injured in the raid, with most already returning to duty. At current oil prices, the proposed shipment could be worth up to $2.8 billion, though it would cover only a few days of U.S. oil consumption. Despite having the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela’s daily output remains far below its capacity. Trump dismissed criticism from Democrats, noting that Maduro had long faced U.S. drug trafficking charges. Opinion polls show Americans are divided over the operation, with many opposing U.S. involvement in choosing Venezuela’s future leadership. The developments have raised international concern about a more aggressive U.S. foreign policy in the region.

Most Americans appear reluctant to see the United States deepen its involvement in foreign conflicts, even as many Republicans initially supported the recent military operation in Venezuela that captured President Nicolás Maduro, according to an Associated Press analysis of recent polls. An AP-NORC survey last month found that Americans wanted the government in 2026 to focus on domestic concerns such as health care and rising costs, rather than foreign policy. Polling after the Venezuela raid showed that many remain unconvinced that the U.S. should intervene to control the country. Nearly half, 45%, opposed taking control of Venezuela, while about 90% said Venezuelans should decide their own leadership. Republicans were more supportive of the Maduro operation, but only about one in ten favored a more active U.S. role in global issues. Most Americans, including Trump supporters, prioritized domestic economic concerns over foreign policy, reflecting the challenges the president may face in balancing “America First” promises with overseas actions.

Following last weekend’s U.S. military operation in Venezuela, the Trump administration publicly thanked news organizations for not jeopardizing the mission by reporting on it in advance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that several media outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, had prior knowledge of Saturday’s raid that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro but refrained from publishing details to protect operational security. “We thank them for doing that or lives could have been lost. American lives,” Rubio said. The acknowledgment is notable amid Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s restrictive press rules at the Pentagon, which many mainstream news organizations have refused to accept. Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Rubio said Congress was not briefed beforehand partly because the information could have leaked, but the primary concern was the safety of U.S. personnel. Semafor reported that some outlets intentionally held the story to avoid endangering military personnel, a practice considered routine among national security reporters. Dana Priest, former Washington Post reporter, noted that news organizations routinely weigh operational risks before publishing sensitive information. Most Americans learned of the Venezuela operation early Saturday when President Trump announced it on his Truth Social platform. While The Associated Press did not have prior notice, its journalists in Venezuela reported explosions hours before the announcement, though U.S. involvement was confirmed only after Trump’s post. Hegseth has defended Pentagon press restrictions, citing the need to prevent solicitation of sensitive information, a policy challenged in court by The New York Times. Experts emphasize that, despite such rules, the ultimate decision to report sensitive information lies with news organizations, balancing public interest with the safety of personnel.

Several European leaders on Tuesday firmly rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion of an American takeover of Greenland, emphasizing that the Arctic island “belongs to its people.” France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom joined Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in reaffirming Greenland’s sovereignty. The self-governing territory of Denmark is part of the NATO alliance. “It is for Denmark and Greenland alone to decide on matters concerning them,” the leaders said in a joint statement. Trump has argued that the U.S. should control Greenland to safeguard NATO territory against growing Chinese and Russian influence in the Arctic. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told CNN on Monday that Greenland should be part of the United States as part of its overall security strategy, questioning Denmark’s claim over the territory. Frederiksen and Greenland’s leaders, however, have repeatedly rejected any U.S. takeover, warning that such a move could undermine NATO. Miller clarified that the discussion did not involve any military action, saying, “Nobody is going to fight the U.S. militarily over the future of Greenland.”