United News of Bangladesh

Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province have evacuated nearly 300,000 people over the past two days after receiving a fresh flood alert from India, officials reported on Wednesday. This brings the total number of people displaced since last month to approximately 1.3 million. Floodwaters have inundated several villages in Punjab’s Muzaffargarh district, after previously impacting areas in Narowal and Sialkot, both situated close to the Indian border. In an effort to shield major cities, officials are redirecting rising river waters onto agricultural land. The emergency response is being described as one of the most extensive rescue and relief operations in Punjab’s history — a region that spans parts of both eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. Thousands of emergency workers, including military personnel, are using boats to evacuate residents and livestock from submerged areas, said Arfan Ali Kathia, Director-General of Punjab’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). According to Kathia, India issued a second flood warning within 24 hours early Wednesday via diplomatic channels, prompted by heavy rainfall and dam discharges on their side of the border. The Ravi, Chenab, and Sutlej rivers are all experiencing high flood levels due to intense rains and upstream water releases. Rescue teams are also deploying drones to locate stranded individuals, particularly those stuck on rooftops. Kathia noted that over 3.3 million people across 33,000 villages in Punjab have been affected so far. Damage assessments are ongoing, and the provincial government has pledged compensation for those who lost homes or crops. Meanwhile, at least 29 people have died due to landslides and flooding in India’s Punjab state, which has a population of over 30 million. Temporary shelters are being established, and relief supplies such as food and essentials are being distributed, although many affected residents say government assistance is inadequate. According to the National Disaster Management Authority, around 40,000 people are staying in relief camps, but the whereabouts of many others remain unknown. In Sher Shah village, 54-year-old farmer Noor Mohammad expressed frustration over the lack of support, saying he had sent his family to stay with relatives. Another resident, Malik Ramzan, chose to remain near his flooded home rather than move to a camp, citing poor conditions and delayed aid deliveries. On Wednesday, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif visited Muzaffargarh, meeting with displaced families at relief sites. Her visit coincided with India’s latest flood alert. Last week, floods struck Kasur, Bahawalpur, and Narowal districts, even submerging the revered shrine of Guru Nanak near the Indian border. Officials say the shrine has since been cleaned and reopened for visitors. Pakistan began large-scale evacuations last month following India’s release of excess water from dams into low-lying border areas. This latest disaster is considered the worst flooding since 2022, when climate-driven floods killed nearly 1,700 people in Pakistan.        

An Arizona man died after falling near the Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska’s capital, authorities said Wednesday. The hiker, identified as 69-year-old Thomas Casey, was found dead around 5 p.m. Monday, according to Alaska State Troopers. He had last been seen on Saturday morning, but no one knew where he planned to hike or when he would return. Troopers said they were alerted about an overdue hiker on Sunday morning. Search teams used cellphone data to track Casey and located his body off a trail near the glacier. His remains were sent to the state medical examiner’s office. Juneau police said Casey had been staying in the city for the summer. Just weeks earlier, in July, a Kentucky woman visiting Juneau on a cruise was also found dead in the mountains after failing to return from a hike.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday urged India to use its ties with Russia to push for peace negotiations on the Ukraine war, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Vladimir Putin at a regional summit in China. Speaking in New Delhi, Wadephul said Europe and the U.S. had made “enormous efforts” but Russia has refused talks, adding that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shown willingness for peace. He stressed that “weapons must fall silent.” The appeal comes as Europe looks to India to play a bigger diplomatic role while balancing its close defense partnership with Moscow. India has avoided condemning Russia outright, instead calling for an end to hostilities, while also buying discounted Russian oil to protect its economy. Tensions with Washington have grown after U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Indian goods to 50%, hitting exports worth $48.2 billion. Seeking alternatives, India is pushing for a free trade deal with the EU, with Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar urging Germany to help conclude the pact this year.

Overnight, Russia launched more than 500 drones and around two dozen missiles targeting Ukraine, officials reported Wednesday. Amidst this, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders continued efforts to boost Ukraine’s defenses and revive momentum in stalled U.S.-led peace initiatives. Zelenskyy said Russian attacks mainly focused on civilian infrastructure, especially energy facilities, as Ukraine braces for another winter three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion. The strikes concentrated on western and central regions of Ukraine and caused injuries to at least five people, according to the Ukrainian air force. Despite ongoing Russian air attacks on civilian zones and harsh ground offensives along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, the fighting has not diminished in recent months, despite attempts by former U.S. President Donald Trump to halt the conflict. Although Zelenskyy has shown openness to Trump’s ceasefire proposals and direct peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has expressed reservations. In the context of recent diplomatic developments, Putin held meetings in China with Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These nations, according to Washington, support Russia’s military campaign, with North Korea reportedly sending troops and ammunition, while China and India continue purchasing Russian oil, indirectly aiding Russia’s war economy. Zelenskyy described the recent attacks as a show of impunity by Putin. Writing on Telegram, he called for stronger sanctions, especially targeting Russia’s war economy, urging increased pressure to halt Russia’s aggression. In his daily address on Tuesday evening, Zelenskyy noted a rise in Russian drone assaults, including attacks during daylight, and signaled a buildup of Russian forces in certain front-line sectors. Zelenskyy arrived in Denmark on Tuesday for discussions with Northern European and Baltic nations regarding new military support and diplomatic backing for Ukraine. Simultaneously, British Defense Secretary John Healey traveled to Kyiv to discuss ways to strengthen Ukraine’s military capabilities. Later on Wednesday, Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, ahead of a European summit the following day to evaluate possible postwar security assurances in coordination with the United States.

Sudan appealed for international aid on Tuesday after a landslide wiped out an entire village in western region of Darfur, killing an estimated 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the African country’s recent history. The village of Tarasin was “completely leveled to the ground,” the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army said as it appealed to the U.N. and international aid groups for help to recover the bodies. The tragedy happened Sunday in the village, located in Central Darfur’s Marrah Mountains, after days of heavy rainfall. “Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than 1,000 people," the rebel group said in a statement. ”Only one person survived,” it added. Abdel-Wahid Nour, the group’s leader, made an appeal on Tuesday for international help. “The scale and magnitude of the disaster are immense and defy description,” he said. The ruling Sovereign Council in Khartoum said it mourned “the death of hundreds of innocent residents” in the Marrah Mountains' landslide. In a statement, it said “all possible capabilities” have been mobilized to support the area. Footage shared by the Marrah Mountains news outlet showed a flattened area between mountain ranges with a group of people searching the area. Luca Renda, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said he was “deeply saddened” by the reported landslide, adding that local sources indicated that “between 300 and 1,000 people may have lost their lives.” He said the U.N. and its partners were mobilizing to support the impacted communities at the scene. A local emergency network, which has been providing support to communities across Sudan during the war, said its teams recovered the bodies of at nine people on Tuesday. Search teams were facing challenges to reach the area because of bad weather and lack of resources, it added. ‘Unprecedented tragedy’ Al-Amin Abdallah Abbas, a farmer from Ammo — a cluster of villages that includes Tarasin — said the area has seen weeks of heavy rainfall, with Tarasin among the worst hit. He said tribal and community leaders in nearby areas have moblized efforts to recover and bury the victims. “The village and its people disappeared," he said. “It's an unprecedented tragedy.” Mohamed Abdel-Rahman al-Nair, a spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army, told The Associated Press that the village where the landslide took place is remote and accessible only by foot or donkeys. Tarasin is located in the central Marrah Mountains, a volcanic area with a height of more than 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) at its summit. A world heritage site, the mountain chain is known for its lower temperature and higher rainfall than surrounding areas, according to UNICEF. It’s located more than 900 kilometers (560 miles) west of the capital city, Khartoum. Sunday’s landslide was one of the deadliest natural disasters in Sudan’s recent history. Hundreds of people die every year in seasonal rains that run from July to October. Last year’s heavy rainfall caused the collapse of a dam in the eastern Red Sea Province, killing at least 30 people, according to the U.N. The tragedy came as a devastating civil war has engulfed Sudan after tensions between the country’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, exploded into open fighting in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country. ‘Deprived of adequate assistance’ Most of the conflict-stricken Darfur region has become mostly inaccessible for the U.N. and aid groups, given crippling restrictions and fighting between Sudan's military and the RSF. Aid group Doctors Without Borders has warned that multiple communities in Darfur, including the Marrah Mountains, have been cut off after more than two years of war and isolation, describing these areas as “a black hole" in Sudan’s humanitarian response. It said in a July report that people in these communities have been “deprived of adequate assistance and neglected by aid actors for over two years.” The International Organization for Migration on Tuesday called for safe access and scaling-up support to the area, saying in a statement: “The people of Sudan cannot bear this never-ending suffering alone.” The Sudan Liberation Movement-Army, centered in the Marrah Mountains area, is one of multiple rebel groups active in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. It hasn’t taken sides in the war. The Marrah Mountains are a rugged volcanic chain extending for 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of el-Fasher, an epicenter of fighting between the military and the RSF. The area has turned into a hub for displaced families fleeing fighting in and around the besieged city. On Monday, the RSF shelled el-Fasher, the military’s last stronghold in Darfur, killing at least 18 people and injuring over 100 others, according to the Sudan Doctors Network, a group of professionals tracking the war. The RSF didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Alleged war crimes The conflict in Sudan has killed more than 40,000 people, forced more than 14 million to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine swept parts of the country. It has been marked by gross atrocities including ethnically motivated killing and rape, according to the United Nations and rights groups. The International Criminal Court said it was investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The conflict created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with more than 30 million of the country’s 50 million population needing assistance. Of those, over 630,000 live in famine-stricken areas in Darfur and Kordofan regions, according to the international hunger experts.

Argentine prosecutors on Tuesday placed Patricia Kadgien, the daughter of a fugitive Nazi officer, and her husband under house arrest over a stolen 18th-century Italian painting. Police conducted raids late Monday on homes linked to Patricia and her husband, Juan Carlos Cortegoso, in the coastal city of Mar del Plata. Patricia Kadgien is the daughter of Friedrich Kadgien, a financial adviser to Hermann Göring, who looted Jewish-owned art galleries during World War II. Kadgien fled to Argentina after the war and died in Buenos Aires in 1978. The stolen painting, a Baroque work called Portrait of a Lady by Italian painter Giuseppe Ghislandi, had been missing for 80 years. It was recently spotted in a real estate listing hanging above a green couch in Kadgien’s living room. The painting had been part of over 1,000 pieces stolen from Dutch-Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. When police entered Kadgien’s house last week, the painting was gone and replaced by a tapestry. Additional raids on Monday seized several prints and two paintings possibly from the 1800s, but the stolen artwork was not found. Prosecutor Carlos Martínez said the couple obstructed the investigation, leading to their home detention for at least 72 hours. He added that the Kadgien family had offered to return the painting but has not done so yet.

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake jolted Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. According to the USGS, the tremor struck Jalalabad City, the provincial capital, at 4:59 p.m. local time. The epicentre was located at 34.67 degrees north latitude and 70.68 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 10 kilometres. This quake comes just a day after a devastating 6.0-magnitude earthquake late Sunday killed over 1,400 people and injured more than 3,000 across Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman provinces. Authorities are currently assessing the impact of the latest tremor in the already-stricken region.

Belgium is preparing to recognize a Palestinian state, the country’s foreign minister announced Tuesday, joining a growing number of nations considering the move amid Israel’s intensified military campaign in Gaza. Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said Belgium’s recognition plans will be revealed at the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 9. However, the step is conditional: all Israeli hostages held in Gaza must be released, and Hamas must be removed from political authority in the enclave. These conditions make immediate recognition unlikely. If implemented, Belgium would join over 140 countries, including more than a dozen in Europe, that already recognize Palestinian statehood. Prévot also outlined measures targeting Israel, including a ban on goods from West Bank settlements and declaring Hamas leaders, violent settlers, and two far-right Israeli ministers as persona non grata. “This is not about punishing the Israeli people but ensuring their government abides by international and humanitarian law and taking steps to change the situation on the ground,” Prévot said on social platform X. He urged the European Union to increase pressure on Israel, including suspending its trade agreement under the Association Agreement. Israel’s war in Gaza has strained relations among the EU’s 27 member states, sparked protests across Europe, and tested political coalitions in Belgium and the Netherlands. Yet Israel maintains strong ties with European military, business, and academic institutions. Belgium’s announcement drew sharp criticism from Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a potential target of the sanctions along with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. “The self-righteous European countries being manipulated by Hamas will eventually face terrorism themselves,” Ben Gvir told The Associated Press. France and the United Kingdom have also announced plans to recognize Palestine, increasing diplomatic pressure on Israel. Countries like Australia, Canada, and European nations linking recognition to reforms by the Palestinian Authority face challenges, as the PA is widely viewed as corrupt and unpopular among Palestinians. Israel opposes granting it a larger role in postwar Gaza. The Palestinians aim to establish an independent state in the occupied West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem, and Gaza—territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel’s government and most political factions have historically opposed Palestinian statehood and argue that recognition now would reward militants following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks.

The death toll from a devastating earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan has surpassed 1,400, with over 3,000 people injured, according to Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, who confirmed the figures on platform X (formerly Twitter). Rescue operations are underway in what UN officials described as a “race against time” to reach remote, mountainous areas worst hit by Sunday’s 6.0 magnitude quake. Entire villages were flattened, and many residents remain trapped under the debris of mud and wood homes that collapsed under the force of the tremor. “The people of Afghanistan are enduring multiple crises, and their resilience is at a breaking point,” said Indrika Ratwatte, the UN’s Resident Coordinator in Afghanistan. He urged the international community to step up urgently, stressing that the situation involves life-or-death decisions. This is the third major earthquake to hit Afghanistan since the Taliban took control in 2021. The country is already grappling with severe aid cuts, economic hardship, and a surge in returnees from neighboring Iran and Pakistan. Ratwatte noted that many of the homes, made from fragile materials, crumbled during the quake while residents were asleep—causing a high casualty rate that could rise further in the coming days. Despite international reluctance to engage directly with the Taliban government—recognized only by Russia—the regime has appealed for global assistance. Aid efforts have been hampered by limited funding, global donor fatigue, and concerns over Taliban policies, especially restrictions on Afghan women and girls, including a ban on their work with NGOs. Earlier this year, the U.S. significantly cut aid to Afghanistan, citing fears of funds benefiting the Taliban. Kate Carey, Deputy Head of the UN’s humanitarian coordination office in Afghanistan, said more than 420 health facilities have closed or suspended services due to funding shortfalls, including 80 in the eastern region affected by the quake. “As a result, the remaining health centers are overcrowded, under-resourced, and located farther from quake-hit communities—creating a dangerous gap in emergency trauma care during the critical first 24 to 72 hours,” Carey said.

Israel announced Sunday that it had killed Abu Obeida, the longtime spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, as its security cabinet convened to discuss expanding military operations in densely populated areas of Gaza. An anonymous official said ceasefire talks were not on the cabinet’s agenda. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that Abu Obeida, a key figure in Hamas’ Qassam Brigades, was killed over the weekend. Hamas has not confirmed his death. According to the Israeli military, Abu Obeida — whose real name was Hudahaifa Kahlout — was responsible for publicizing hostage videos and footage from the October 7 attacks. The military reiterated that Hamas leaders abroad remain targets. The offensive comes amid Israel’s broader campaign to dismantle Hamas following the October 2023 assault in which 251 people were taken hostage and around 1,200 — mostly civilians — were killed in southern Israel. Currently, fewer than 50 hostages are still held in Gaza, with only around 20 believed to be alive. Outside the cabinet meeting, families of hostages protested the government’s unwillingness to prioritize a ceasefire. Einav Zangauker, whose son is a hostage, criticized the government for refusing to reach a deal that could save lives. Deadly Attacks Amid Aid Efforts Since Saturday, at least 43 Palestinians have been killed, most in Gaza City. Shifa Hospital reported 29 bodies, including 10 civilians who died while attempting to access aid. One grieving woman questioned the rationale behind the airstrikes, asking whether rubble was being mistaken for resistance fighters. Al-Awda Hospital reported another seven civilians were shot while trying to reach humanitarian aid. Witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire on crowds in the Netzarim Corridor — a military zone that cuts across Gaza. “We just wanted food,” said Ragheb Abu Lebda, who saw multiple people wounded. “It’s a death trap.” Civilians continue to die amid chaos surrounding humanitarian convoys. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S.-funded aid organization, denied any incident near its facilities that day. Israel’s military has not commented on the civilian casualties reported Sunday. City in Ruins, Civilians Too Weary to Flee Israeli forces have been targeting areas around Gaza City for weeks, preparing for a larger offensive. Airstrikes have intensified in neighborhoods like Rimal, where smoke filled the sky Sunday. Residents, exhausted and displaced multiple times, picked through the rubble for basic supplies. Many say they are too tired to evacuate again or doubt any part of Gaza is truly safe. The U.N. reports that over 90% of Gaza’s 2 million residents have been displaced at least once, often multiple times. Israel has hinted that it will limit aid to Gaza City while planning new infrastructure in the south — steps that Palestinians see as forced displacement. Rising Deaths from Starvation Gaza’s Health Ministry reported seven more adult deaths due to malnutrition in the past day. Since June, 215 adults and 124 children have died from hunger-related causes, the ministry says. Meanwhile, a humanitarian flotilla departed from Barcelona in the largest effort yet to breach Israel’s naval blockade. Previous attempts have been unsuccessful. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, over 63,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. About half of the dead are believed to be women and children. While Israel disputes these figures, it has not released its own casualty estimates. The U.N. and independent organizations regard the ministry’s numbers as generally credible.