United News of Bangladesh

The body of a housewife was recovered from her house in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur district on Wednesday morning. The deceased was identified as Aklima Akter, a garment worker and wife of Adnan Islam of Muktagacha upazila in Mymensingh. The couple used to live in a rented house in Abdar area of Sreepur. Quoting locals, police said neighbours heard the sound of crying of the couple’s minor child from the house for a long time in the morning. Getting no response from the house despite repeated calls, the neighbors entered the house and found the body lying inside it, police said.  3 killed by lightning strikes in Chapainawabganj Officer-in-charge of Sreepur police station Mohammad Abdul Barik said being informed the recovered the body and sent it to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. The body bore marks of injuries on forehead and face, he said.  3 to die for killing college student in Kishoreganj The husband fled following the suspected murder, he said. Legal action will be taken in this regard, he added.

A shooting at a Las Vegas gym on Friday afternoon left two people dead — one of them the suspected gunman — and injured at least three others, according to police. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Undersheriff Andrew Walsh reported that the incident began when shots were fired inside the Las Vegas Athletic Club on the city’s west side, killing one person. Police stated that officers shot the suspect, who was armed, as he attempted to flee the building. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, according to a social media update from the department. Three other individuals were wounded in the incident and taken to local hospitals, with one reported to be in critical condition. Ukraine-Russia political theatrics underscore stark realities on the ground as war grinds on Walsh said there was no longer a threat to the public. Officials said they were still investigating a motive. “They said ‘Get out, get out, get out,’” Claudio Vigani, a witness who was at the gym when the shooting began, told KLAS-TV. “Then I saw the dead guy next to the machine.” Gary Steward, who was headed to the gym with another person, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a stop at a nutrition store saved their lives. He said if they hadn’t stopped, they would have been at the front desk where the shooter entered. They saw glass breaking as they walked up to the gym and ran back to the parking lot. “It’s just a weird feeling right now,” Steward said. “It’s strange. Who shoots up a gym?” Calls to the athletic club and its corporate office went unanswered.      

Tzeela Gez was on her way to the hospital to bring new life into this world when hers was suddenly cut short. As her husband drove their car through the winding roads of the occupied West Bank late Wednesday, a Palestinian attacker shot at them. Within hours, Gez, nine months pregnant, was dead. Doctors barely saved the life of the baby, who is in serious but stable condition. Israel says it is trying to prevent such attacks by waging a monthslong crackdown on West Bank militants that intensified earlier this year. But the escalating offensive, which has killed hundreds of Palestinians over 19 months, displaced tens of thousands and caused widespread destruction, has ultimately not snuffed out attacks. And the latest bloodshed is only likely to fuel a cycle of violence that has persisted for decades between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel has pledged to find the attacker, who fled the scene, and the military chief of staff, who visited the area Thursday, told troops that the broader operation would continue alongside the manhunt. "We will use all the tools at our disposal and reach the murderers in order to hold them accountable,” Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said, according to a statement from the military, which said it had sealed Palestinian villages in the area of the attack and set up checkpoints. The shooting, especially because the victim was a pregnant mother with three other children, has the potential to ignite vigilante violence against Palestinians by radical Jewish settlers. They regularly storm Palestinian towns and villages, burning and damaging property, in response to such attacks. Marauding settlers are rarely held to account for their actions and Palestinians are left to pick up the pieces of the destruction with little recourse to compensation or assistance from Israeli authorities.  54 killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes on Southern Gaza’s Khan Younis ‘A mother in her essence’ Gez, 37, and her husband Hananel, were residents of Bruchin, a settlement of some 2,900 in the northern West Bank. She worked as a therapist and on her Facebook page, shared developments in her professional life as well as her thoughts on the war in Gaza, the fallen Israeli soldiers and the hostages still held by Hamas. Meital Ben Yosef, head of the settlement's local council, told Israeli Army radio that Gez was “all mother. A mother in her essence.” “A couple of parents were driving to the happiest moment that a parent can experience and the wife is killed on the way. It’s a horrific incident,” she said. Photos of the car released by the military showed a bullet hole on the passenger side of the windshield and a streak of blood on a back door. Soldiers searched the rugged brush on the sides of the road following the attack, according to video released by the Israeli military. Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, praised the attack as “heroic” in a video statement Wednesday but stopped short of saying the militant group was behind it. On Thursday, military checkpoints slowed down traffic on roads in the vicinity of the attack, and many Palestinian motorists were at a standstill as they tried to make their journeys, according to video shared on social media. Concern about reprisal attacks The attack sparked outrage and calls for revenge. “Just as we are flattening Rafah, Khan Younis and Gaza, we must flatten the nests of terror in Judea and Samaria,” wrote the Israeli finance minister and a settler firebrand, Bezalel Smotrich, in a post on X, referring to the West Bank by its biblical name.  Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill 60, including 22 children The violence in the West Bank escalated when the war in Gaza erupted with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Israel has staged frequent raids in the territory, especially but not limited to its north, using ground and air power in violence that has killed many militants but also other Palestinians, some of them throwing rocks to protest the incursions as well as others not involved in confrontations. Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, all territories the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Around 500,000 Jewish settlers now live in about 130 settlements scattered across the West Bank. Much of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to Palestinian statehood. Israel views the West Bank as its biblical heartland and believes the fate of the settlements should be determined in peace negotiations, which have been moribund for some 15 years. Israel says much of the Palestinian militancy in the West Bank is fueled by Iran and views the fighting there as part of its ongoing multifront wars to secure its borders and prevent a second Oct. 7-style attack. UN humanitarian chief blasts Israel for 'deliberately' blocking aid to Gaza

A youth died from electrocution at  Kumargaon in Sylhet city early Thursday. The deceased is Md. Jamil Ahmed,20, son of Garib Ullah of East Kalaruka area.  First Hajj flight from Sylhet leaves for Madinah He used to work as a security guard at Lutfunnesa Hall,  a women’s hotel in Kumargaon area. SI Mushfiqur Rahman, in-charge of Shiber Bazar police outpost, said that Jamil, who got electrocuted in the hall room, was rescued at noon and taken to Mount Edora Hospital, where the doctor declared him dead. The body has been kept at the Osmani Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.  Crucial Sylhet road and bridge collapse into Kushiyara amid relentless erosion

A Jubo Dal activist was shot dead by miscreants at Garib Ullahpara in Raozan upazila of Chattogram district early Sunday. The deceased was identified as Mohammad Manik Abdullah, 36, son of Abdul Motaleb of Bhandari Colony in the upazila. Quoting witnesses, Mohammad Ali, sub-inspector of Raozan police station, said a group of miscreants swooped on the house of Manik around 1:30 am and opened fire on him, leaving him dead on the spot. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital morgue for autopsy. The miscreants managed to flee the scene by auto-rickshaw and motorbikes.    

A tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India claimed the lives of at least 30 people and left many others injured early Wednesday, according to police. The incident occurred as millions of Hindu pilgrims gathered for a ritual bath at the confluence of three rivers in Prayagraj. Police official Vaibhav Krishna reported that 60 people sustained injuries and were taken to hospitals for treatment. The stampede took place on a particularly auspicious day in the six-week-long festival, with authorities estimating a turnout of 100 million devotees seeking spiritual purification through the holy dip. According to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the chaos began when pilgrims attempted to bypass barricades set up for a procession of revered Hindu ascetics. These processions, a major attraction of the event, feature ash-covered sadhus making their way to the sacred waters. Passenger plane catches fire at South Korean airport, all 176 people on board are evacuated Despite the scale of the tragedy, Indian officials took over 16 hours to release casualty figures. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief, calling the incident "deeply saddening" and offering condolences to the victims' families. A witness named Sarojini told the Press Trust of India that the crowd suddenly became uncontrollable. "We were trapped with people pushing from all sides. Many fell, and there was no way to escape," she recounted. Distraught relatives gathered outside a temporary hospital, anxiously searching for missing loved ones. The aftermath of the chaos was evident at the site, where personal belongings such as clothes, blankets, and bags lay scattered. Despite police urging people to avoid the main confluence, millions of devotees continued arriving at the 4,000-hectare festival grounds. Adityanath assured that the situation was under control but acknowledged the overwhelming number of attendees. By 8 a.m. Wednesday, around 30 million people had already completed their ritual bath. The Maha Kumbh festival, which occurs every 12 years, began on January 13, with an estimated 400 million expected to participate throughout its duration. So far, nearly 150 million people, including top officials like Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and international celebrities like Coldplay’s Chris Martin, have visited the site. 12 rail passengers killed in India after jumping onto tracks in fire panic A massive tent city has been set up to accommodate pilgrims, featuring roads, electricity, water facilities, 3,000 kitchens, and 11 hospitals. Authorities have deployed 50,000 security personnel and installed 2,500 surveillance cameras to monitor crowd movements and prevent disasters. However, critics from opposition parties blamed the tragedy on mismanagement and alleged that VIP treatment for politicians and celebrities worsened crowd control issues. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi urged the government to improve arrangements for ordinary devotees. The Maha Kumbh festival is one of the most significant religious events for Hindus, who make up nearly 80% of India’s 1.4 billion population. The event is also politically important for Modi’s government, which emphasizes Hindu cultural heritage. Stampedes have occurred at previous Maha Kumbh gatherings. In 2013, a similar tragedy at a Prayagraj train station left 40 pilgrims dead. More recently, in July, at least 116 people—mostly women and children—lost their lives in a stampede at a religious event in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district.  

A 23-year-old garment worker was stabbed to death allegedly by some youths  at a slum at Diabari in Mirpur area of the capital on Friday night. The deceased was identified as Mizanur Rahman Milon, 23, son of Anarul of Rangpur district. Quoting Anarul’s father, inspector Faruk, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital police camp, said Milon,  father of a child, used to live at the slum at Choto Diabari-1 in Mirpur area. Two motorcyclists killed being hit by train in Gazipur On Friday night, some youths snatched the mobile phone of one Biplab, 12, at the slum. When protested, a group of youths of the slum including Russel, Surya and Manik beat Milon up with sticks and stabbed him indiscriminately around 11 am, leaving him injured. Later, he was taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where the doctors declared him dead around 12 am.

The throat-slit body of a ward-level leader of Jubo Dal, the youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was discovered on Thursday morning in Gangni upazila of Meherpur district. Police recovered the body of Alamgir Hossain, 45, from the Raimantala playground, where it had been left overnight, said officer-in-charge (OC) of Gangni Police Station Bani Israil. He said the body was sent to Sadar Hospital morgue for post-mortem examination. 2 motorbikes hit by a car leave 3 dead in Rajshahi According to OC, the murder is believed to have occurred late on Wednesday night. “Miscreants slaughtered him and abandoned the body in the playground,” he said, adding that investigations are ongoing to ascertain the motive and identify those responsible. Saidul Islam, president of the Gangni municipal unit of Jubo Dal, said that Alamgir had been at Gangni Bazar on Wednesday night before going missing. “We found his body on Thursday morning but remain unclear about the motive behind this brutal killing,” he said. Youth stabbed to death in Narayanganj Alamgir Hossain, the convenor of Ward No. 1 unit of Gangni municipality Jubo Dal, had recently returned home from Dubai where he had been working, three months ago. A two-member convening committee, with Alamgir as its convenor, had been formed two months earlier.

Four people died and two were injured in a gas line explosion at the Akij Venture Limited factory in Bahubal upazila of Habiganj district on Tuesday morning.  The deceased were identified as engineer Md. Riaz Uddin, and Mizan Gazi and Mahfuz, both residents of Chandpur. The identity of the fourth victim has not yet been confirmed. Teenager hit by bus dies in Sylhet; road blocked in protest According to Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Bahubal Police Station, Zahidul Islam, the factory's engineer and workers were conducting maintenance on the gas line. Two workers died on the spot, while four others were critically injured. Two of the injured succumbed to their injuries en route to Sylhet for treatment. The gas is supplied to the site by Jalalabad Gas Company and regulated through an installed system, said the OC.  Protest of 7 murder: Strike disrupts operations at Baghabari Port Reports indicate that the regulator had been malfunctioning for several days, he added. 

The government has taken full control of Tongi’s Biswa Ijtema ground in Gazipur following deadly clashes between two factions of Tabligh Jamaat that left four people dead and over 50 injured. Members of the army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), police, and other law enforcement agencies have been deployed around the area to ensure security and prevent further violence. Additional forces have been deployed on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and Kamarpara road where suspicious people are being searched and interrogated. Who is Maulana Saad and what is the controversy around him? Despite the unrest, a few devotees, followers of Maulana Saad Kandhalvi stayed overnight in a tin-shed mosque on the western bank of the Turag River. They started leaving the area on Thursday morning. Deputy Commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) N.M. Nasir Uddin said a public notice was issued on Wednesday prohibiting gatherings within a three-kilometer radius of the Ijtema ground. Devotees were instructed to vacate the area by the evening and the ground was cleared accordingly. The Ijtema ground will remain under government control until further notice. Four people were killed and 40 others injured in a clash between two factions of Tabligh Jamaat at the Biswa Ijtema ground in Tongi over the control of the venue early Wednesday. 4 dead, 40 injured in clashes at Ijtema venue According to Commissioner Nazmul Karim Khan of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP), the violence erupted when followers of Maulana Saad attempted to enter the venue, prompting a counter-attack by supporters of Maulana Zubair around 3 am. Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury warned that those responsible for the violence would be held accountable.