United News of Bangladesh

President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered what he described as a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, sharply escalating pressure on President Nicolás Maduro and tightening restrictions on the country’s oil-dependent economy. Trump announced the move on social media, days after US forces seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast following a military buildup in the region. He alleged that Venezuela was using oil revenue to fund drug trafficking and other crimes and said the US would continue increasing its military presence. In his post, Trump claimed Venezuela was now surrounded by a major US naval force and warned that pressure would intensify until the country returned oil, land and other assets he said had been taken from the United States. Pentagon officials referred questions about the announcement to the White House. Venezuela’s government strongly condemned the order, accusing Trump of violating international law, free trade rules and freedom of navigation. In a statement, Caracas said the US president was making a reckless and serious threat by attempting to impose a naval blockade and was falsely claiming ownership of Venezuela’s natural resources. The government said it would raise the issue at the United Nations. The announcement follows a series of US military strikes on boats in international waters in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific as part of an anti-drug campaign. US officials say the operations have disrupted drug trafficking routes, though they have drawn criticism from lawmakers concerned about civilian deaths and legal boundaries. At least 95 people have been killed in 25 known strikes, according to the Associated Press. The Trump administration has said the campaign aims to stop drugs bound for the United States, but senior officials have also suggested it is intended to weaken Maduro’s grip on power. Trump has previously said the military effort could expand from the sea to land targets. Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves and produces about one million barrels per day, with oil serving as the backbone of its economy. Since US oil sanctions were imposed in 2017, the state-owned company PDVSA has relied on a network of unflagged tankers to sell crude on the black market, mainly to China. Smaller volumes go to the US through Chevron and to Cuba, analysts say. It remains unclear how Washington plans to enforce what Trump called a total blockade. However, the US Navy has multiple vessels in the region, including an aircraft carrier, amphibious ships and maritime patrol aircraft, giving it wide surveillance capability over shipping routes. Trump also claimed that the Venezuelan regime had been designated a foreign terrorist organization, though no such designation has been formally announced. Venezuela is not listed by the US as a state sponsor of terrorism. Associated Press reporters in Washington and Caracas contributed to this report.  

Children with cancer and their families across several countries were exploited in online fundraising scams that raised millions of dollars for treatment but delivered little or none of the money to the intended beneficiaries, a BBC World Service investigation has found. The investigation uncovered at least 15 families who said they received little to nothing from fundraising campaigns created in their children’s names, despite emotionally charged videos being used to solicit donations globally. Nine families linked to what appears to be the same scam network said they received none of the roughly $4 million apparently raised. One of the cases involved Chance Letikva Khalil, a seven-year-old boy from the Philippines who died of cancer a year after appearing in a fundraising video. His mother, Aljin Tabasa, said she was paid a one-time filming fee of $700 but never received any of the $27,000 the campaign appeared to have raised online. According to the BBC, families were often asked to stage highly emotional scenes, including shaving children’s heads, attaching fake medical equipment and forcing children to cry on camera. Parents said they were told the videos would help raise funds for better treatment. The campaigns were found to be professionally produced and widely promoted online, often claiming urgent, life-or-death situations. Many were linked to an organisation called Chance Letikva, registered in Israel and the United States, as well as other similarly named entities.

Britain's unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over was estimated at 5.1 percent in the August-October period, rising further amid sluggish labor market conditions, data released Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. The figure rose by 0.4 percentage points from the May-July period, according to the ONS. Annual growth in employees' average total earnings, including bonuses, stood at 4.7 percent in August-October. In real terms, adjusted for consumer price index (CPI) inflation, earnings grew by 1 percent, the data showed. The number of payrolled employees fell by 0.5 percent between October 2024 and October 2025, and declined by 0.1 percent between September and October 2025. Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said the overall picture continued to point to a weakening labor market. "The number of employees on payroll has fallen again, reflecting subdued hiring activity, while firms told us there were fewer jobs in the latest period," she said. Jane Gratton, deputy director of public policy at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said Tuesday's data reflected that businesses were "less confident about hiring staff due to sky-high employment costs and a tidal wave of new employment legislation coming down the track." Noting that 72 percent of businesses surveyed by the BCC said labor costs were the biggest cost pressure they faced, Gratton said there was a limit to how much additional cost firms could absorb without affecting investment and growth. She called for "a laser-like focus on stimulating growth and boosting investment, trade, innovation and skills" to make 2026 "a year of delivery." 

The BBC said Tuesday it will defend a $5 billion lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump over an edited clip of his January 6, 2021, speech in a Panorama documentary. Trump filed the suit in Florida, accusing the broadcaster of defamation and violating trade practices law. He claimed the BBC “intentionally and deceptively” altered his speech. The BBC apologised for the edit last month but rejected Trump’s demands for compensation, saying there was no basis for a defamation claim. The Panorama programme showed Trump’s speech as: “We're going to walk down to the Capitol… and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell,” which the BBC acknowledged could give the impression of a direct call for violence. Trump’s original speech included the phrases, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women,” and, “And we fight. We fight like hell.” The lawsuit also cites possible access by Florida viewers through VPNs or streaming service BritBox. The BBC said it did not distribute the documentary in the US. The case comes after a leaked BBC internal memo criticised the edit, leading to the resignations of director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness. The BBC said it will defend the case and declined further comment. British politicians, including Health Minister Stephen Kinnock and opposition leaders, backed the BBC, highlighting the broadcaster’s independence. Trump has previously filed multiple lawsuits against US media organisations, winning some settlements. Media experts said the BBC may face high litigation costs but must defend its reputation and editorial independence.   With inputs from BBC

The new head of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency MI6 is set to warn that Russia’s efforts to spread instability are reshaping modern conflict and creating complex security challenges for the United Kingdom and its allies. In her first public speech as MI6 chief, Blaise Metreweli is expected to say Britain faces increasingly unpredictable and interconnected threats, with particular focus on what she describes as an aggressive and expansionist Russia. Extracts released by the Foreign Office quote her as saying that the export of chaos is a core feature of Russia’s approach to international engagement and is likely to continue unless President Vladimir Putin changes course. Metreweli, who assumed office at the end of September, is the only publicly named employee of MI6. She succeeded Richard Moore after previously serving as the agency’s director of technology and innovation. In her remarks, she is expected to stress the importance of combining technological expertise with human intelligence to counter hybrid threats. She will say MI6 officers need to be as skilled in computer code as they are in handling human sources, and as fluent in programming languages as they are in spoken ones. Her speech follows a series of warnings from Western defence and security officials about hybrid threats posed by countries including Russia, Iran and China. These threats are said to include cyber operations, espionage and influence campaigns that undermine international stability. Last week, the UK imposed sanctions on several Russian media organisations over alleged information warfare activities and on two Chinese technology companies accused of large-scale cyber operations. Metreweli is the first woman to lead MI6 since the agency was founded in 1909. Britain’s other intelligence agencies have previously been headed by women, including MI5 and the cyber intelligence agency GCHQ. The warning comes amid intensified diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, now approaching its fourth year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met US envoys in Berlin on Sunday and is scheduled to hold talks with the leaders of Germany, France and Britain. European allies are seeking to maintain support for Kyiv as Washington pushes for a rapid acceptance of a US-brokered peace proposal. Separately, Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, is also expected to warn that Putin aims to weaken and ultimately dismantle NATO. In a speech on Monday, Knighton will say the war in Ukraine demonstrates Russia’s readiness to target neighbouring states and civilian populations, posing a threat to the entire NATO alliance, including the UK. He is expected to argue for stronger military capabilities and more resilient national infrastructure in response.  

Australian authorities are investigating a shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead during a Jewish festival, as the government considers stricter gun laws following the incident. Officials said a father and son carried out the attack during a Hanukkah event attended by hundreds marking the first day of the Jewish holiday. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese classified the incident as an act of antisemitic terrorism. The 50-year-old father, who was killed, arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa and was an Australian resident at the time of his death, authorities said. Officials did not disclose his country of origin. His 24-year-old son, an Australian-born citizen, was wounded and is undergoing treatment in hospital. Police said those killed included a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor. Several others were injured. Albanese said the Australian Security Intelligence Agency had investigated the son for six months in 2019. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the investigation examined potential links to a Sydney-based Islamic State cell. Albanese said the agency’s focus at the time was on associates rather than the son. Police said the father held a firearms licence and was a member of a gun club. Footage broadcast on Australian television showed a bystander intervening and disarming one of the gunmen. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke identified the individual as Ahmed al Ahmed, a 42-year-old fruit shop owner, who was later shot in the shoulder by the second gunman and survived. The attack occurred amid an increase in antisemitic incidents in Australia over the past year. The country has a population of about 28 million, including approximately 117,000 Jews, most of whom live in Sydney and Melbourne. Government data cited by the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, showed antisemitic incidents rose more than threefold in the year following the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent military operations in Gaza. In recent years, synagogues, vehicles and properties in major cities have been targeted, and individuals have been assaulted. Albanese previously said Iran was responsible for two such attacks and announced the suspension of diplomatic ties with Tehran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged Australia to take stronger action against antisemitism and criticised Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state. The Bondi Beach incident is the deadliest shooting in Australia in three decades. Australia introduced strict gun control measures after a 1996 mass shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania, where 35 people were killed. Since then, mass shootings have been rare. Notable incidents include murder-suicides in 2014 and 2018 and a 2022 shooting involving police and extremists in Queensland that resulted in six deaths. Albanese said the government is moving toward tougher gun regulations following the attack.

European leaders are set to reaffirm backing for Ukraine on Monday as Washington pressures Kyiv to quickly accept a U.S.-brokered peace plan, amid ongoing high-level talks in Berlin. Peace discussions involving U.S. envoys, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European officials resumed Monday morning as part of efforts to secure regional stability in the face of Russia’s growing assertiveness. The second day of talks began shortly before noon local time. Finnish President Alexander Stubb, a key intermediary between U.S. President Donald Trump and Zelenskyy, was seen in downtown Berlin Monday morning. Zelenskyy met Sunday with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner at the German federal chancellery to explore ways to end the nearly four-year conflict. The U.S. has sought to balance the demands of both sides, with Trump pressing for a swift resolution. Key hurdles remain, including control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, largely occupied by Russian forces. Following a five-hour meeting, the U.S. said via Witkoff’s social media account that “a lot of progress was made.” Zelenskyy earlier indicated readiness to drop Ukraine’s NATO bid if Western countries provide security guarantees comparable to NATO members. However, Kyiv continues to reject U.S. proposals to cede territory to Russia. Moscow demands Ukraine withdraw from parts of Donetsk under Kyiv’s control and abandon its NATO ambitions, which Russian President Vladimir Putin cites as a security threat. Zelenskyy stressed that any Western assurances must be legally binding and backed by the U.S. Congress. The Kremlin said Monday it expects updates on the Berlin talks once concluded. Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called predicting a peace deal timeline “a thankless task,” adding that Putin is open to serious negotiations but not to stalling tactics. In London, new MI6 chief Blaise Metreweli is set to warn that Putin’s global ambitions are reshaping conflict and security challenges. Meanwhile, Russia launched 153 drones at Ukraine overnight Sunday into Monday. Ukraine’s Air Force reported neutralizing 133 drones, with 17 hitting targets. Russia claimed to have destroyed 146 Ukrainian drones, including 18 over Moscow, temporarily halting flights at Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports. Damage and casualties are not yet confirmed. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, leading European support for Ukraine alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said Saturday that the era of “Pax Americana” is largely over for Europe and Germany. He warned that Putin aims to redraw European borders and restore the former Soviet Union. Macron affirmed France’s commitment to Ukraine’s security and sovereignty on Sunday, pledging to help build lasting peace in Europe. Ciobanu reported from Warsaw. Pietro De Cristofaro in Berlin, Illia Novikov in Kyiv, and Katie Marie Davies in Manchester contributed.    

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski arrived for an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, direct from a dentist appointment. The 63-year-old veteran human rights advocate was experiencing a return to daily life after more than four years behind bars in Belarus. He was suddenly released on Saturday. Medical assistance in the penal colony where he served his 10-year sentence was very limited, he said in his first sit-down interview after release. There was only one option of treating dental problems behind bars — pulling teeth out, he said. Bialiatski recalled how in the early hours of Saturday he was in an overcrowded prison cell in the Penal Colony no. 9 in eastern Belarus when suddenly he was ordered to pack his things. Blindfolded, he was driven somewhere: “They put a blindfold over my eyes. I was looking occasionally where we were headed, but only understood that we’re heading toward west.” In Vilnius, he hugged his wife for the first time in years. “When I crossed the border, it was as if I emerged from the bottom of the sea and onto the surface of the water. You have lots of air, sun, and back there you were in a completely different situation — under pressure,” he told the AP. Bialiatski was one of 123 prisoners released by Belarus in exchange for the U.S. lifting sanctions imposed on the Belarusian potash sector, crucial for the country’s economy. A close ally of Russia, Belarus has faced Western isolation and sanctions for years. Its authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and the country has been repeatedly sanctioned by the West for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In an effort at a rapprochement with the West, Belarus has released hundreds of prisoners since July 2024. Bialiatski won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 along with the prominent Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties. Awarded the prize while in jail awaiting trial, he was later convicted of smuggling and financing actions that violated the public order — charges widely denounced as politically motivated — and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The veteran advocate, who founded Belarus’ oldest and most prominent human rights group, Viasna, was imprisoned at a penal colony in Gorki in a facility notorious for beatings and hard labor. He told AP that he wasn’t beaten behind bars — his status as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, perhaps, protected him from physical violence, he said. But he said he went through much of what all political prisoners in Belarus go through: solitary confinement, arbitrary punishment for minor infractions, not being able to see your loved ones, rarely being able to receive letters. “We can definitely talk about inhumane treatment, about creating conditions that violate your integrity and some kind of human dignity,” he said. Bialiatski is concerned about two of his Viasna colleagues, Marfa Rabkova and Valiantsin Stefanovic, who remain imprisoned, and about all 1,110 political prisoners still behind bars, according to Viasna. “Despite the fact that prisoners are being freed right now, new people regularly end up behind bars. Some kind of schizofrenia is taking place: with one hand, the authorities release Belarusian political prisoners, and with the other they take in more prisoners to trade, to maintain this abnormal situation in Belarus,” he said. The advocate vows to continue to fight for the release of all political prisoners, adding: “There is no point in freeing old ones if you're taking in new ones.” He intends to use his status as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate — of which he learned in prison and couldn't initially believe it — to help Belarusians “who chose freedom.” “This prize was given not to me as a person, but to me as a representative of the Belarusian civil society, of the millions of Belarusians who expressed will and desire for democracy, for freedom, for human rights, for changing this stale situation in Belarus,” he told AP. “And it was a signal to the Belarusian authorities, too, that it's time to change something in the life of the Belarusians.”

Israel on Saturday said it killed a top Hamas commander in Gaza after an explosive device detonated and wounded two soldiers in the territory's south. Hamas in a statement did not confirm the death of Raed Saad. It said a civilian vehicle had been struck outside Gaza City and asserted it was a violation of the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10. Saad served as the Hamas official in charge of manufacturing and previously led the militant group's operations division. The Israeli statement described him as one of the architects of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, and said that he had been “engaged in rebuilding the terrorist organization” in a violation of the ceasefire. The Israeli strike west of Gaza City killed four people, according to an Associated Press journalist who saw their bodies arrive at Shifa Hospital. Another three were wounded, according to Al-Awda hospital. Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of truce violations. Israeli airstrikes and shootings in Gaza have killed at least 386 Palestinians since the ceasefire took hold, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel has said recent strikes are in retaliation for militant attacks against its soldiers, and that troops have fired on Palestinians who approached the “Yellow Line” between the Israeli-controlled majority of Gaza and the rest of the territory. Israel has demanded that Palestinian militants return the remains of the final hostage, Ran Gvili, from Gaza and called it a condition of moving to the second and more complicated phase of the ceasefire. That lays out a vision for ending Hamas’ rule and seeing the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision. The initial Hamas-led 2023 attack on southern Israel killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Almost all hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals. Israel’s two-year campaign in Gaza has killed more than 70,650 Palestinians, roughly half of them women and children, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community. Much of Gaza has been destroyed and most of the population of over 2 million has been displaced. Humanitarian aid entry into the territory continues to be below the level set by ceasefire terms, and Palestinians who lost limbs in the war face a shortage of prosthetic limbs and long delays in medical evacuations.

Football icon Lionel Messi’s much-hyped “GOAT Tour of India” began in Kolkata on Saturday but was marred by chaos and mismanagement at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan, forcing the event to be cut short amid fan unrest. Messi virtually unveiled a 70-foot statue of himself earlier in the day, marking the start of his three-day India tour. The statue, installed by the Sree Bhumi Sporting Club at Lake Town, shows the Argentine great holding the FIFA World Cup trophy and is the first of its kind in India. However, moments after Messi appeared at the Salt Lake Stadium, the situation spiralled out of control as angry fans protested over alleged mismanagement and lack of access. Visuals showed vandalism inside the stadium, while security personnel rushed to escort Messi out as tensions rose. As a result, several scheduled activities were curtailed. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, who were expected to attend the programme, could not take part after the event was abruptly ended. Promoter Satadru Datta and security officials whisked Messi away from the venue as fans shouted slogans and expressed frustration, calling the situation an “absolute disgrace” and blaming poor planning. Earlier in the day, Messi met Shah Rukh Khan and industrialist Sanjiv Goenka and expressed happiness over the statue, according to state minister Sujit Bose, who said Messi and his team had approved the installation. Messi arrived in Kolkata on Saturday morning and is scheduled to leave for Hyderabad in the evening, where he is set to take part in a football clinic and a celebrity match. The India tour will continue in Mumbai on December 14 and conclude in New Delhi on December 15. Despite the disorder in Kolkata, organisers said the remaining legs of the tour would go ahead as planned under tighter security arrangements.   With inputs from NDTV