United News of Bangladesh

The U.N. atomic watchdog's 35-member board of governors voted 23-3 Wednesday to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council for the first time in 20 years over its failure to cooperate regarding uranium traces at undeclared sites. China, Russia and Niger opposed the resolution introduced by the U.S., Britain, France and Germany, while eight countries abstained and one didn't vote due to arrears. The referral opens Iran to potential Security Council sanctions or asset freezes, though punitive actions remain unlikely given veto power held by allies Russia and China. Western officials suspect the traces evidence a secret nuclear weapons program active until 2003, which Tehran denies, insisting its program is peaceful. The resolution calls on Iran to remedy its non-compliance, which was officially declared in June 2025. Access to sites struck during the June 2025 U.S.-Israel conflict remains restricted. Additionally, the IAEA reports Iran holds 440.9 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium-enough for up to 10 nuclear bombs if weaponized-though Director General Rafael Grossi emphasized this does not mean Iran possesses weapons.

Norway on Wednesday paid its final respects to King Harald V as his coffin was carried in a procession to Oslo Cathedral for a funeral attended by royals, political leaders and dignitaries from Norway and abroad. A 21-gun salute marked the beginning of the procession from the Royal Palace to the cathedral. Harald’s son, newly crowned King Haakon VIII, and other senior members of the royal family walked behind the coffin, which was covered with the Norwegian royal standard. Queen Sonja, Harald’s widow, and Queen Mette-Marit, the wife of King Haakon, followed in a car. Norwegian officials and international guests, including European royals and political leaders such as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, also took part in the procession. Harald died on Aug. 28 at the age of 89. He was Europe’s oldest reigning monarch and had spent 35 years on the throne. During his reign, Harald modernised the Norwegian royal household but chose not to abdicate, unlike several other elderly European monarchs in recent years. His son succeeded him immediately and formally pledged allegiance to Norway’s constitution in parliament last week. Thousands of people gathered along Oslo’s streets to witness the procession, with many standing behind barriers decorated with Norwegian flags. Authorities closed central Oslo to vehicles and electric scooters and asked members of the public not to bring bicycles, umbrellas or sharp objects. People across Norway were also able to follow the funeral through public screenings. Churches, libraries, cultural centres and city halls set up large screens for people to watch the ceremony, public broadcaster NRK reported. Before the funeral, large numbers of Norwegians queued to pay their respects to Harald as his coffin lay in state at the chapel of the Royal Palace. The waiting line stretched to seven hours at one point during the weekend, while more than 46,000 people visited the chapel over the course of the week. The guest list included the monarchs of Sweden, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Jordan, as well as Britain’s Prince William and Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino. Presidents from several European countries were also expected to attend. Zelenskyy was among the foreign leaders present. He met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo on Tuesday to discuss the war in Ukraine. The United States was represented by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker. A nationwide minute of silence was scheduled for the beginning of the funeral. Norway’s parliamentary speaker and prime minister were to deliver eulogies, followed by a candle-lighting ceremony involving representatives of different faiths. Although the government did not declare Wednesday an official holiday, schools and workplaces were allowed to make arrangements for people to watch the ceremony. Authorities also urged organisers to suspend noisy events while the funeral was taking place. Following the service, Harald’s coffin was to be carried to the palace chapel at Akershus Castle, where generations of Norwegian royals are buried. After a private ceremony attended by members of the royal family, some foreign guests and senior Norwegian officials, the coffin was to be placed in the royal crypt. Norway’s monarchy traces its roots to King Harald Fairhair in the ninth century. After Norway regained independence from Sweden in 1905, around three-quarters of voters backed the restoration of the monarchy in a national referendum. The Norwegian royal family is related to several European royal houses. Harald and Haakon are also related to Britain’s King Charles III and Spain’s King Felipe VI, as all are descendants of Queen Victoria, who ruled Britain from 1837 until 1901. The Norwegian monarchy today has largely a ceremonial role, with political authority resting with the elected government and parliament. The royal family, however, continues to play a role in representing Norway internationally and promoting the country’s interests abroad.

Saudi Arabia and the United States carried out airstrikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq in July after accusing them of launching drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities. The attacks had been claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are also backed by Iran. Regional officials have now told The Associated Press that the Houthis assisted the Iraqi militias in planning and carrying out the two-day drone assault, indicating a growing level of coordination between the two groups. For decades, Iran built a network of armed allies along Israel’s borders. Many of those groups suffered heavy losses during conflicts that followed Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack from Gaza. Israel launched major attacks against Hamas as well as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, previously Iran’s most powerful regional ally. Regional officials and analysts say Tehran is increasingly relying on Iraqi militias and the Houthis to put pressure on Saudi Arabia and other US partners in the Gulf. The aim, they say, is to increase the economic and military costs of the war launched by the US and Israel in February. The strategy carries significant risks. A fresh wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi oil facilities Tuesday raised fears of a return to full-scale conflict between the Houthis and the kingdom. Meanwhile, Iraq has ordered militias to disarm by the end of this month, although several powerful Iran-backed groups have rejected the order. A renewed US campaign to isolate Iran economically could further intensify the confrontation. Iran-backed groups in Yemen and Iraq apply pressure from both sidesTwo Saudi officials, citing intelligence information, and a senior Iraqi security official confirmed that the Houthis participated in the Iraqi drone operation. According to them, Houthi representatives worked from an operations center operated by Iraqi militias. Saudi Arabia and the United States responded with joint airstrikes that killed at least 20 Iraqi fighters, six Iranian advisers and at least one Houthi official. The death of the Houthi official, which had not previously been reported, was confirmed by a Houthi official and a member of an Iraqi militia. A US military official said Houthi fighters had also been killed in earlier US strikes in Iraq. The official said Washington was concerned about the presence of Houthi members in Iraq and their potential ability to conduct attacks against other countries, including Saudi Arabia. Two officials from Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella organization of militias that is formally part of the country’s security structure, denied that the group had taken part in the attack on Saudi Arabia. They also denied that Houthis were operating under the PMF’s authority. The PMF includes several powerful Iran-backed militias, some of which operate independently at times. The officials and the militia member spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The Houthis did not respond to requests for comment. Cooperation expanded during the Gaza warRelations between Iraqi militias and the more organized Houthi movement strengthened during the Gaza war, when the groups coordinated attacks against Israel, according to Houthi and regional officials. At the height of the conflict, Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi publicly referred to the existence of a joint operations room. Following US and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, Iran and allied groups began launching attacks against Gulf countries in an effort to widen the conflict and impose costs on major oil-producing states that host US military forces. "Iran has a hybrid strategy in the current war. We are not fighting on one front and we are not using one tool," Mahdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iran’s parliament speaker, wrote on social media in June. Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the Crisis Group, said the Houthis’ increased role during the Gaza conflict created new opportunities for cooperation in Iraq. "Many groups there became eager to support the Houthis, and in return, the Houthis started sharing their military expertise with Iraqi militias," Nagi said. He described the emerging cooperation as a way of "squeezing Saudi like with pliers." Houthi blockade increases pressure on Saudi ArabiaA week before the Iraqi drone attack, the Houthis announced a blockade targeting Saudi shipping in the Red Sea. That move threatened another major trade route at a time when disruption in the Strait of Hormuz had already shaken the global economy. According to the conflict-monitoring organization ACLED, the Houthis have launched more than a dozen attacks against Saudi oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea since late July. On Tuesday, the group carried out a series of attacks targeting oil and other facilities in southern Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities said more than 70 people, including women and children, were injured. ACLED said the Houthi blockade has pushed Saudi Arabia to adopt a "dark" shipping policy, including switching off tracking systems on oil tankers traveling through the Red Sea. Saudi oil shipments increasingly targetedSaudi Arabia had redirected a large portion of its oil exports toward the Red Sea after Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz. However, following the start of Houthi attacks, Saudi Arabia began moving more oil northward toward the Suez Canal and Egypt’s SUMED pipeline. Global shipping monitor Kpler reported that flows through the pipeline increased from about 650,000 barrels per day in June to more than 1.9 million barrels per day in August. The Houthis demonstrated last month that they could also threaten this alternative route when they attacked a Saudi tanker in the northern Red Sea with a missile. The tanker was reportedly traveling from the Saudi port of Yanbu toward the Suez Canal, around 1,000 kilometers (700 miles) from territory controlled by the Houthis. Adam Baron, a Yemen expert at the New America think tank in Washington, said the Houthis appeared prepared to accept short-term costs in pursuit of what they view as longer-term advantages, including expanding their influence along the Red Sea coast. "The train to a return to full scale war has left the station, and it's unclear if anyone is going to jump in to stop it," Baron said, pointing to Washington’s focus on Iran and Saudi Arabia’s reluctance to become directly involved in Yemen again. Houthis have their own reasons to target Saudi ArabiaThe Houthis captured Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014. A year later, Saudi Arabia joined Yemen’s internationally recognized government in a military campaign against the rebels. Saudi authorities were likely concerned about the possibility of having a Hezbollah-style armed group operating along their border. The Yemen civil war has killed at least 150,000 people, according to UN estimates, and at various points brought the country close to famine. A ceasefire that had largely remained in place since 2022 has now effectively collapsed. For years, a Saudi-led blockade has increased pressure on the Houthis while also causing severe hardship for civilians living in areas controlled by the rebels. The Houthis have frequently responded to pressure by escalating their attacks. Elisabeth Kendall, a Yemen expert at Cambridge University’s Girton College, said renewed fighting could give the Houthis an opportunity to seize energy-rich parts of eastern Yemen. Houthis possess a wide range of advanced weaponsThe Houthis control large parts of northern and central Yemen and have spent years acquiring advanced weapons through smuggling networks despite the blockade and a UN arms embargo. Iran denies supplying weapons to the rebels, but Iranian-made arms have been recovered from battlefields and intercepted shipments. The Houthis possess a broad arsenal that includes cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, drones and unmanned submarines. Saudi-backed forces in Yemen are now fighting the Houthis on several fronts, including around the strategically important port of Hodeida and Taiz province on Yemen’s western coast. The Houthis, meanwhile, have attacked Mokha, the main Red Sea port that remains under government control. Saudi Arabia appears hesitant to launch another direct campaign against the Houthis. But Kendall said that if the rebels continue escalating their attacks, the kingdom "will have to act decisively once and for all."  

Liudmyla Ryzhak carefully prepared her wedding dress and her fiancé’s traditional Ukrainian shirt the day before their long-awaited marriage. After several postponements because of the war with Russia, she was finally just hours away from marrying Leonid Ryzhak, a Ukrainian soldier, in a ceremony in Kyiv. But overnight, a Russian strike hit a warehouse across from their apartment building. The powerful blast shattered the apartment’s windows, damaged the home and scattered furniture, putting their wedding plans in doubt. The couple later searched through the rubble for their wedding clothes. Liudmyla pulled her white tulle skirt from beneath the debris, brushing away broken glass. Strike follows visit by US envoysThe attack came shortly after US envoys visited Ukraine on Sunday, following a temporary pause in Russian attacks. The strikes resumed later with drones and missiles, with explosions reported across Kyiv for nearly five hours overnight. Attacks continued into Tuesday. Despite the danger, the couple decided not to let the war stop their wedding. Leonid had recently returned to Kyiv from the front lines in eastern Ukraine after spending months serving there. Liudmyla said she did not want to postpone happiness when life could change at any moment. "If God gave me a continuation of life, then why should I put it off?" she said. "For someone, it ended. And who can guarantee this won't happen again tomorrow?" The blast woke the couple and blew out the apartment windows. A curtain was left burned and hanging in pieces. Their ears ringing from the explosion, their first concern was the possibility of another strike. They rushed to a shelter with Liudmyla’s 6-year-old daughter and two guinea pigs. Their cat, frightened by the blast, had hidden and could not immediately be found. The couple escaped unharmed. A second strike hit while they were already in the shelter, but their apartment was left uninhabitable until repairs can be completed. Friendship grows into loveLiudmyla and Leonid first met three years ago through mutual friends. Neither was initially looking for a serious relationship, and both had children from previous marriages. Their friendship gradually became a romantic relationship. Liudmyla supported Leonid during his deployments to the front, while their bond grew stronger. Leonid serves with a team operating bomber drones in the Pokrovsk area. He came to Kyiv for a long-awaited vacation about a week and a half before the wedding, just as frequent air raid alerts and daytime attacks began disrupting the capital. For six consecutive days, the couple went to the registry office but were unable to complete their paperwork because of repeated air raid sirens. They eventually managed to submit their documents and were given Sept. 8 as their wedding date. Neither expected their apartment to suffer heavy damage on the same day. It was not Liudmyla’s first experience with a Russian attack. On Aug. 20, another strike damaged her home, cutting gas lines and shattering windows. She was so frightened that she avoided returning for some time. But daily responsibilities eventually brought her back. The wedding was approaching, and the children needed to attend school. Another attack interrupts wedding ceremonyDespite everything, the couple dressed for their wedding and headed to the registry office. Leonid tried to keep the mood positive, saying the most important thing was seeing his bride smile. "It's fine. We'll get through it," he said. Outside their damaged apartment, the courtyard looked almost like a disaster zone. Thick black smoke rose behind a colorful children's playground as neighbors cleared away debris. Some neighbors stopped to congratulate the couple. "We should all be celebrated, that we survived," Liudmyla told them. The couple reached the registry office at 10:40 a.m., as planned. Leonid wore a traditional embroidered Ukrainian shirt known as a vyshyvanka, matching the pattern on Liudmyla’s dress. He could not retrieve his black trousers and shoes from the rubble, so he wore army trousers and black sneakers with fluorescent yellow soles and laces instead. Liudmyla’s white tulle skirt also bore tiny holes caused by the broken glass and debris she had pulled it through. Soon after they arrived, another air raid siren sounded. The registry office closed temporarily for safety, leaving the couple waiting outside in the courtyard. Explosions could be heard nearby as attacks struck surrounding districts and fires broke out. Nearly three hours later, the alert ended, allowing the couple to return inside. Couple marry despite the destructionBefore entering the ceremony hall, the couple exchanged nervous jokes. "I didn't even get to finish the repairs at home," Leonid joked, referring to their badly damaged apartment. "I've never had such a spectacular day," Liudmyla replied. The ceremony finally went ahead. The officiant told them, "Love is when two people become a team." Moments later, Liudmyla and Leonid officially became husband and wife. "We're gaining a new life, because we survived," Liudmyla said. She said the day could have ended very differently, adding that if they had not survived, she would not have been wearing her wedding dress. Instead, she said, someone might have been choosing darker clothes for her funeral.  

An additional three dozen health facilities serving more than 400,000 people in Sudan are closing this year due to global aid cuts, worsening a dire humanitarian situation in a country torn by more than three years of war, aid groups said Tuesday. The cuts come to a health care system that once numbered 6,500 primary healthcare facilities and 300 public hospitals, but that already was decimated in the first year and a half of war. By September 2024, the World Health Organization said that up to 70-80% of facilities in the worst-hit areas were either closed or barely functioning. Sudan plunged into war in April 2023 when tensions between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, escalated into full-scale fighting across the country. The war killed at least 59,000 people, displaced some 13 million and pushed parts of the country into famine. More aid organizations are pulling out as clinics are left without necessary medicine or funding, forcing patients to face costly transportation and dangerous journeys to get treatment, said Doctors Without Borders, or MSF. “These cuts are stripping away what little capacity remains, closing facilities, sending health workers home, and cutting off supply lines for medicines and nutrition treatment. The system is already stretched past its limit,” said Mesfin Teklu Tessema, senior technical health director for the International Rescue Committee, or IRC. Fewer health facilities remain open as aid reaches fewer people Mohammed Mahdi, IRC director for East Sudan, told The Associated Press that funding cuts are forcing the closure of 36 IRC-supported facilities and sites, cutting off access to essential services for an estimated 473,700 people. “A small number of facilities are able to keep running for a short period using other funding sources, but this bridge support is only expected to last through the end of September,” Mahdi said of facilities across Sudan. Healthcare providers couldn’t find alternative funding needed to provide healthcare services after grants to many organizations in Sudan ended in June following the announcement of U.S. aid cuts last year, according to MSF. Some major European donors also decreased their aid spending. The Um Rakuba camp in Gedaref State in eastern Sudan, which shelters around 17,000 displaced people, is now served by fewer than 10 aid organizations operating in and around the camp, down from about 35 in 2021, according to MSF. The MSF-supported hospital there “is now the only lifeline left” for refugees and residents, said Fabrizio Locuratolo, MSF humanitarian affairs manager in the statement. Risks of outbreaks across the country Ali Almohammed, MSF emergency health manager, warned that “serious disease outbreaks are already happening” in several parts of Sudan. He told the AP that measles reached a “major outbreak level” in Darfur, with approximately 75% of measles patients being unvaccinated. Sudan is also experiencing cholera and malaria outbreaks. Multiple attempts have been made to end the war, including peace talks. Most recently, the United States urged the U.N. to impose sanctions against the warring parties as a means of pressuring them to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Hong Kong ’s first post-handover leader, Tung Chee-hwa, who struggled to cope with an Asian financial crisis and growing protests for democracy in the early years under Chinese rule, has died at age 89. His office said in a statement that Tung passed away peacefully in the presence of his family members on Tuesday. Tung, a shipping tycoon, had little political experience before a panel of pro-Beijing elites picked him in 1997 to be the first leader of the southern Chinese territory after the end of British colonial rule. Many believe Beijing perceived Tung as a loyalist who would obey the Communist leadership’s edicts. He was also seen as beholden to Beijing because China’s state-run banks helped rescue his family’s ailing shipping company — Orient Overseas Container Line — during a global slump in the 1980s. The early years after the handover were sensitive. The “one country, two systems” formula, in which Hong Kong was supposed to maintain civil liberties and other remnants of its British past while Beijing had the final say on issues such as political change, was still untested. Tung was praised for his work ethic, even nicknamed “7-11” because of his reputation for long workdays, but clumsy political skills and perceived indecisiveness as major crises mounted eroded his popularity and led to a less flattering nickname, “Old Dumb Tung.” Shortly after Tung took office in 1997, Hong Kong was hit by bird flu — the first known cases of the virus in humans. The wealthy city’s economy was also battered by a financial crisis that swept across Asia. Tung’s response to the two crises was widely criticized and his deep distrust of the media hindered his ability to improve his image. He was also prone to policy gaffes that made him the butt of jokes. Despite his rocky first term, Tung was reelected unopposed by the pro-Beijing electoral committee in 2002. A year later, Tung faced another serious test when SARS — severe acute respiratory syndrome — hit Hong Kong, killing nearly 300 people and devastating the economy. Tung’s government was accused of a sloppy, sluggish response. Later in 2003, Tung gained more critics by proposing an anti-subversion law, locally known as Article 23 legislation. Many saw it as a threat to civil liberties, and an estimated half million people joined a street march against it. The government later scrapped the legislation. Hong Kongers held another massive protest in 2004 to demand direct elections for the city’s leader and the entire legislature. Tung sided with China’s communist leaders, who rejected it, and the rally became an annual event for pro-democracy supporters for years. The large-scale protests might have signaled to Beijing that the Hong Kong public was becoming more politically divided and that Tung was losing control. He confirmed he was leaving on March 10, 2005, insisting his failing health was the reason, not pressure from Beijing. “If I continue as chief executive, I won’t be able to handle it,” he said. Many were suspicious about Tung’s explanation because no health problems were apparent in the months before his resignation. Tung was born in Shanghai on May 29, 1937, and his family moved to Hong Kong in 1947, two years before the Communists took over the mainland. After earning a degree in marine engineering from the University of Liverpool in 1960, Tung worked for General Electric and his family’s shipping company in the United States before returning to Hong Kong in 1969. He started a think tank after leaving the city’s top job and remained a Beijing loyalist during major protests for democracy in 2019 and an ensuing crackdown on dissent in which the central government imposed a national security law on the city that outlawed subversion. As the protests raged in September 2019, he was among 42 people who received national medals and honors from Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a ceremony in Beijing for their contributions to the country. Tung was recognized for devoting himself to the implementation of the “one country, two systems” policy. Following the enactment of the security law in 2020, massive protests that once challenged Tung’s leadership vanished in the city. Tung has not been seen at public events over the past several years.

Federal investigators have begun examining the circumstances surrounding the fiery runway accident at Miami International Airport that killed five people. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said Monday that all five victims were inside a van carrying seven employees of an airport cleaning company, while an SUV outside airport property was also struck. Homendy described the crash site from Sunday as a scene of extreme destruction. She did not say how many people were inside the SUV or specify where the five fatalities occurred. During a tour of the crash area, Homendy followed the path taken by the Boeing 767. She pointed out tire tracks leading from the runway into the grass, the wreckage of the cleaning crew’s van, damaged fencing, airport navigation equipment and the SUV that was hit beyond airport grounds. The debris scattered across the area included vehicle airbags and parts of the vehicles, aircraft and airport equipment. Homendy said damaged fencing could be seen throughout the site. She described the investigation area as extensive and said the destruction must have been particularly difficult for emergency crews who responded to the accident. The aircraft traveled approximately 1,300 feet (396 meters) beyond the paved runway before coming to a stop. Debris was spread across a large area. The van, which contained seven people, was severely destroyed. It belonged to Professional Ocean Service Corp., a company contracted to provide cleaning services for airlines. Homendy said the NTSB expected to release additional details Tuesday, potentially including verified information about the aircraft’s speed obtained from its flight data recorder. Investigators focus on why the plane overran the runwayInvestigators spent Monday trying to establish whether the cargo aircraft landed too far down the runway to stop safely. Video recorded during Sunday’s landing appears to show the Boeing 767 staying in the air over a significant portion of the runway before touching down. Aviation specialists said investigators will determine the precise touchdown point, whether the aircraft landed outside the designated touchdown area and why the pilots continued the landing rather than performing a go-around. The investigation will also consider the aircraft’s speed, braking performance, weather and wind conditions, mechanical condition and other circumstances that may have contributed to the accident. The plane had flown from Cincinnati to Miami and continued to San Juan, Puerto Rico, before returning to Miami. At about 2 p.m. Sunday, it went beyond the runway and crossed a road serving warehouses and businesses around the airport. Five people died, while three others suffered critical injuries and two were hospitalized with less serious injuries, authorities said. The crash produced a large column of black smoke. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah said the pilot and copilot became trapped inside the cockpit, while other people were trapped in vehicles. Firefighters also had to rescue someone who was pinned beneath a vehicle. Aviation experts said aircraft normally touch down within the first 3,000 feet (914 meters) of a runway. If this aircraft had passed that point, safety expert Steve Arroyo said the pilots should have discontinued the landing and attempted another approach. Mary Schiavo, a pilot and former Transportation Department inspector general, said online footage appears to show the aircraft remaining above the runway for an unusually long time without raising its nose to bring the main landing gear down. Although there was no rain during the incident, storm clouds were visible and strong winds had been reported. Schiavo said a tailwind could have pushed the plane farther along the runway before touchdown, leaving less distance available for braking. Miami airport lacked a runway arresting systemMiami International Airport does not have an engineered arresting system designed to stop aircraft that run beyond the end of a runway. The Federal Aviation Administration says similar systems have been installed at more than 120 airports across the United States. These systems use lightweight, crushable materials placed at the end of runways to slow and stop aircraft. According to the FAA, they have helped save at least 497 lives in runway-overrun incidents. Mike O’Donnell, a former FAA director responsible for airport safety and accident investigations, said Miami airport appears to meet federal requirements and was not obligated to install such a system because its runways have a 1,000-foot safety area beyond their ends. The safety requirements were strengthened after American Airlines Flight 1420 overran a runway at Little Rock National Airport in Arkansas in 1999, killing nine people. Images from Sunday showed the Prime Air aircraft stopped near a roadway and two tractor-trailers. The plane appeared to have come to rest on its underside and remained largely intact despite the fire. The flight was operated by 21 Air, a North Carolina-based cargo airline. The Boeing 767 was about 32 years old. It was initially manufactured as a passenger aircraft and operated by several airlines for more than 20 years before being converted into a freighter in 2015, according to Flightradar24. Schiavo said investigators are also expected to closely review the aircraft’s maintenance records, particularly because the plane previously had foreign owners, including a Russian company. Crash disrupts flights at Miami airportThe accident caused widespread disruption at Miami International Airport, with flights suspended for much of Sunday afternoon and delays continuing into Monday. Airport officials said two of the facility’s four runways remained closed Monday. Operations were expected to remain disrupted because aircraft and flight crews that had been scheduled to arrive were displaced by cancellations following the crash. The airport reported 160 canceled flights and more than 300 delays Sunday. By mid-afternoon Monday, another 69 flights had been canceled, while flight-tracking services showed significant delays across the airport. Amazon said it would cooperate fully with the investigation and expressed sympathy for those affected by the tragedy. The company said it was deeply saddened by the deaths and offered condolences to the victims’ families, friends and everyone affected by the accident. The Miami crash follows another deadly U.S. cargo-plane accident last year. A UPS aircraft crashed at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport after losing an engine while accelerating for takeoff. All three pilots and 12 people on the ground were killed, while another 23 people were injured.

A series of Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabia on Tuesday left 73 people injured, according to Saudi authorities, marking a significant escalation in the renewed hostilities involving the U.S.-allied kingdom and the Iran-supported Houthi movement in Yemen. The latest attacks followed several weeks of intensified fighting between Houthi forces and troops supporting Yemen’s Saudi-backed government. The violence brought an end to a four-year period of relative calm in the country’s long-running civil war. Battles have intensified across several areas of Yemen, including the western coastline. Government forces have claimed recent advances in Hodeida, Taiz and Baydah provinces. Meanwhile, the Houthis have continued targeting Saudi oil infrastructure and vessels operating in the Red Sea. Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition involved in the Yemen conflict, said the early Tuesday attacks struck civilian and economic sites in the Saudi cities of Abha, Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushait. According to al-Malki, 73 people were injured, among them women and children. He did not release further information about the victims or explain how many were wounded at each location. Al-Malki described the strikes as a major escalation and accused the Houthis of violating Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and endangering the security of people living in the kingdom. He also warned that the coalition would respond.

Nepal observed a national day of mourning Monday for victims of the Aug. 26 floods, with government buildings flying flags at half-staff as families completed traditional mourning ceremonies. Monday marked the 13th day since the devastating floods that killed more than 1,300 people across Nepal and Tibet and left around 5,000 others missing, including foreign nationals, according to Nepal’s disaster management authorities. In predominantly Hindu Nepal, families traditionally observe a 13-day mourning period. During this time, immediate relatives generally remain at home while others visit to offer condolences. The final day is marked by religious rituals and prayers for the souls of those who died. Some families whose relatives are still missing also carried out symbolic funeral ceremonies. Cremation is a significant Hindu funeral tradition, and holding the ritual without recovering a loved one’s body can offer families a degree of emotional and spiritual closure. The government officially declared Monday a day of mourning and instructed government offices to lower their flags to half-staff. At the same time, search and rescue operations for those still missing continued, although some families criticized authorities for what they described as an inadequate response. In Kathmandu, relatives gathered outside the offices of the prime minister and several key ministries, urging the government to intensify efforts to locate hundreds of workers from hydropower projects who were swept away by the Bhotekoshi River or buried beneath landslides and debris. Among the protesters was Sumana Shrestha, who held a poster featuring a photograph of her 55-year-old husband. He has been missing since the day of the floods. Shrestha said her husband, a consulting geologist, had told the family he would return home after finishing his shift at the Trishuli hydropower project. However, the two-and-a-half-story project office was completely buried under debris. “We are here because we have not heard of any rescue attempt on this project, but it has been 13 days already,” she said. “All we can do is pray and hope for a miracle.” Another protester, Mahesh Prasad Shrestha, displayed a photograph of his 52-year-old brother, Niraj Shrestha, an engineer who worked at the same site. He said authorities did not send a small excavator by helicopter until the sixth or seventh day following the disaster. He argued that Nepal should have requested larger helicopters from countries such as China or India to transport heavier rescue equipment. Authorities said rescue operations have concentrated on 12 hydropower projects, where about 900 workers remain missing and an estimated 500 may be trapped inside tunnels. Specialist teams from India, China, South Korea and the United States have joined the search, working through debris, damaged buildings and underground tunnels. Two Nepali workers were rescued from one of the facilities on Friday, while rescuers recovered a Chinese national from the site on Saturday.

Israeli aircraft conducted two strikes on the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Rumman early Monday, leaving at least nine people dead, including women and children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The ministry reported that one strike struck a building, killing eight people, among them a child and two women. Eleven others were injured, including four children and two women. A second airstrike targeted a vehicle in the village, killing a paramedic affiliated with the Lebanese Islamic Risala Scout Association and injuring two other people. The attacks occurred as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah intensified, marking another escalation in the ongoing conflict.