United News of Bangladesh

Turkey’s energy minister has urged greater protection of Black Sea oil and gas routes after three Russian tankers were struck off the Turkish coast, warning that the region’s critical energy lifelines are increasingly at risk. Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Ankara is alarmed not only by the threat to commercial vessels but also to two major undersea pipelines — Blue Stream and TurkStream — that deliver Russian gas directly to Turkey. Citing the 2022 Nord Stream sabotage, he stressed Turkey’s heavy dependence on imported energy. “We call on all parties to keep energy infrastructure out of this war because it concerns people’s daily lives,” Bayraktar told reporters Wednesday. “Energy flows in the Black Sea and the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits must remain uninterrupted.” Ukraine says its naval drones hit two Russian tankers on Nov. 28, while a third was damaged Tuesday as it approached the port of Sinop. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier denounced the attacks, calling them a threat to navigation, human life and the marine environment within Turkey’s exclusive economic zone. Nearly half of Turkey’s total energy supply comes from Russian oil and gas. Ankara, a NATO member, faces mounting pressure from Washington to scale back its energy reliance on Moscow. During President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to President Donald Trump in September, the U.S. urged Turkey to loosen its energy ties with Russia. Turkish companies later signed a multibillion-dollar deal to purchase U.S. liquefied natural gas. Bayraktar defended the relationship, saying Russia had long been “a very reliable supply” for Turkish consumers since the 1980s. Still, he acknowledged the need to diversify. “We don’t want to rely on one country or a few countries,” he said, noting that Turkey seeks more competitive and varied sources of natural gas. He confirmed that state-owned BOTAS recently finalized a new supply contract with Russia’s Gazprom. Turkey’s cooperation with Russia also extends to nuclear energy. Rosatom is constructing the four-reactor Akkuyu nuclear power plant on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, expected eventually to provide around 10% of the country’s electricity. The project, however, has suffered repeated delays linked to Western sanctions on Russian entities following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Bayraktar said the plant is still on track to generate its first electricity next year. Some components are now being sourced from China after Western suppliers declined involvement due to sanctions. He added that financing challenges persist, including around $2 billion “stuck in JP Morgan for a long time” after Western nations froze Russian assets. “We need to play a moderator role to help release this money because it is intended for the project,” he said.  

Talks between the United States and Russia on ending the nearly four-year war in Ukraine were “constructive” but substantial work remains, a senior adviser to President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday. Yuri Ushakov, a top Kremlin official, spoke after Putin met U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, in the Kremlin on Tuesday. The discussions, which lasted five hours, focused on the framework of Trump’s peace plan rather than specific text. Ushakov described the talks as “useful, substantive” but stressed that “a compromise hasn’t been found” on territorial issues, which the Kremlin sees as essential for resolving the conflict. “Some of the American proposals seem acceptable, but others don’t suit us. Work will continue,” Ushakov said. He added that contacts between Moscow and Washington will carry on. The meeting followed U.S. talks with Ukrainian officials in Florida earlier this week. Trump’s plan, released last month, has drawn criticism for appearing to favor Russia, including calls for Ukraine to cede the Donbas region and abandon NATO aspirations. Negotiators said the framework has been revised but did not provide details. Putin accused European allies of obstructing peace efforts by demanding changes “absolutely unacceptable to Russia” and said Europe is responsible for blocking progress. He reiterated that Russia has no plans to attack Europe but warned that Moscow is ready to respond if hostilities arise. European governments, meanwhile, remain concerned that a Russian victory in Ukraine could destabilize the region and threaten other countries. They have provided financial and military support to Kyiv and are pushing to be involved in negotiations to ensure their security interests are considered. U.S. peace efforts rely heavily on Europe to provide funding and security guarantees for a postwar Ukraine, although European officials say they were not consulted on the original plan. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visiting Ireland, emphasized the need for fair play in negotiations and said progress depends on signals from the U.S. delegation in Moscow. “There is a lot of dialogue, but we need results. Our people are dying every day,” Zelenskyy said, adding he is ready to meet with Trump if talks advance. The Florida talks narrowed Trump’s original 28-point plan to 20 items, with Ukrainian diplomats seeking stronger European involvement in decision-making. Zelenskyy also warned against Russian disinformation campaigns attempting to influence negotiations. Russia claimed on Monday that it captured the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk, but Ukrainian officials denied the report, calling it propaganda. Ukrainian forces are reinforcing logistics routes to supply troops in the area. Ushakov said any potential meeting between Putin and Trump would depend on the progress of ongoing negotiations. Both sides continue to work toward resolving differences, though major disputes over territory and security guarantees remain unresolved.  

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will arrive in Britain on Wednesday for a state visit celebrating strong bilateral ties while recalling painful moments from World War II. King Charles III will welcome Steinmeier and his wife, Elke Büdenbender, to Windsor Castle for a three-day program filled with traditional pageantry. This is the first official state visit by a German head of state to the UK in 27 years. The visit will include a solemn stop at Coventry Cathedral on Friday to honor the memory of at least 568 people killed during the Nazi bombing of the city on Nov. 14, 1940. The attack leveled or damaged more than half of Coventry’s homes and remains the most intense air raid on a British city during the war. Germany has repeatedly apologized for Nazi-era atrocities. During his own state visit to Germany in 2023, Charles laid a wreath at the ruins of Hamburg’s St. Nikolai Church, commemorating more than 30,000 civilians killed by Allied bombing in 1943. Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, said the visit comes at a meaningful time for both countries, and weaving these moments of history into the itinerary is important for London and Berlin. State visits in the UK are formally hosted by the king but arranged by the government to strengthen relations with key partners. This visit will include a grand banquet, military honors and displays of royal tradition, including a large Christmas tree in St. George’s Hall. Behind the ceremony is a political purpose. Britain and Germany want to reinforce cooperation as they confront the war in Ukraine and navigate disruptions caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s America First policies, which have strained long-standing trade and security ties. The trip follows Charles’ successful state visit to Germany in 2023, when he switched between German and English while addressing lawmakers in the Bundestag and emphasized the depth of the relationship. British officials hope the images from Windsor Castle will strengthen public support for the partnership in both countries. Gerhard Dannemann, former head of the Centre for British Studies at Humboldt Universität in Berlin, said the ceremony will be symbolic and memorable. He added that Berlin hopes Steinmeier’s visit will match the positive impact of Charles’ trip to Germany last year.  

Bulgaria’s government on Tuesday withdrew its controversial draft budget after tens of thousands of people took to the streets in nationwide protests that later turned violent. The budget plan, which proposed higher taxes, increased social security contributions and expanded public spending, drew strong criticism from opposition parties, business groups and economists. Critics warned that the measures would stifle investment, push more economic activity underground and jeopardize the country’s preparations to join the eurozone early next year. Authorities initially pledged last week to revise the draft after early demonstrations but later walked back the promise, triggering even larger protests in Sofia and several major cities on Monday night. Organizers said about 50,000 people joined the rally in the capital. The demonstration, largely driven by young people, began peacefully, with crowds chanting “We will not allow ourselves to be lied to” and “Resignation.” Protesters displayed banners reading “Generation Z is Coming” and “Young Bulgaria Without the Mafia,” demanding that the government either overhaul the draft or step down. Organizers urged participants to avoid violence and record any provocations. Tensions escalated later in the night as smaller groups moved toward the offices of ruling parties and threw plastic and glass bottles, stones and firecrackers at buildings and police officers. Clashes broke out between riot police and groups of masked youths wearing black hoodies. Garbage bins were set on fire, police vehicles were vandalized, and officers used pepper spray to disperse crowds. Emergency services said several injured people were taken to hospitals, while many others received on-site treatment. Police reported detaining 10 individuals. Opponents of the budget argued that the spending increases would be financed mainly through heavier tax burdens on workers and businesses, along with a steep rise in public debt, which they said would fuel inflation without improving public services. The government, however, maintained that the draft budget was essential for meeting eurozone rules, including keeping the deficit below 3% of GDP.  

Recent warnings from both the United States and Russia about restarting nuclear weapons testing have triggered deep concern worldwide, threatening a long-standing international norm that has curbed such tests for decades. Analysts say the rhetoric from the two biggest nuclear powers risks undermining global nonproliferation efforts and heightening geopolitical tensions. U.S. President Donald Trump announced in late October that Washington would resume nuclear weapons testing “on an equal basis” with other countries, a directive that he said would begin immediately. Moscow quickly countered, with President Vladimir Putin telling his Security Council that Russia would respond in kind if the U.S. or any signatory of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) conducts a test. The CTBT, adopted in 1996 after growing concerns about radioactive fallout from Cold War–era atmospheric tests, established a near-universal expectation against nuclear testing, even though it has never formally entered into force. Of the 44 states required for activation, nine — including the U.S., China, India and Pakistan — have not ratified it. Russia ratified the treaty but revoked its ratification in 2023, citing U.S. inaction. The Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization oversees a vast global detection system with 307 monitoring stations capable of identifying nuclear tests using seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide technology. Its 2025 budget exceeds $139 million. Experts warn that renewed U.S. testing could open the door for countries with less experience — particularly China and India — to conduct full-scale tests that could help them advance smaller, more sophisticated warheads, ultimately weakening U.S. and global security. Since 1996, only 10 nuclear tests have been carried out, all by India, Pakistan and North Korea. Historically, the U.S. and the Soviet Union conducted the overwhelming majority of roughly 2,000 tests before the CTBT’s adoption. No evidence Iran seeks nuclear weapons: Putin While Washington has not clarified the type of testing Trump meant, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said any upcoming activities would involve subcritical experiments — tests that do not trigger a nuclear chain reaction and do not violate the CTBT’s zero-yield standard. However, experts note that some extremely low-yield hydronuclear tests can evade detection, highlighting a verification gap. The CTBTO says its main mission is to assure member states that any nuclear explosion “anywhere, anytime” would be detected. Its network has successfully identified all six North Korean tests between 2006 and 2017. Source: AP 

Evidence gathered by the BBC suggests that Georgian authorities used a World War One-era chemical agent, camite, against anti-government protesters last year, causing long-lasting health effects. Protesters in Tbilisi, demonstrating against the government’s suspension of the country’s European Union accession bid, reported severe burning sensations when sprayed with water cannon, along with weeks of coughing, shortness of breath, vomiting, and fatigue. One protester, Gela Khasaia, said his skin burned and could not be washed off. A study led by Dr. Konstantine Chakhunashvili, a pediatrician sprayed during the protests, surveyed nearly 350 participants and found that almost half suffered symptoms for more than 30 days. Sixty-nine were examined medically, revealing “significantly higher abnormalities” in heart electrical signals. The study has been peer-reviewed and accepted by the journal Toxicology Reports. Chemical weapons experts, whistleblowers from Georgia’s riot police, and document evidence indicate that the water cannon likely contained camite, a potent chemical first used by France in World War One. Former riot police officer Lasha Shergelashvili said he had previously tested the chemical and warned against its use due to its persistent effects, but the cannons continued to be loaded with it until at least 2022. An inventory obtained by the BBC listed chemicals coded UN1710 and UN3439, later identified as trichloroethylene and bromobenzyl cyanide (camite). Toxicology expert Prof. Christopher Holstege confirmed that clinical findings from protesters were consistent with camite exposure and inconsistent with conventional riot-control agents such as CS gas. UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Edwards, called the use of the chemical “exceedingly dangerous” and said populations should never be subjected to experimental agents. She stressed that riot-control measures must have only temporary effects under international law, and described the reported symptoms as potentially constituting torture or ill-treatment. Georgian authorities dismissed the BBC findings as “absurd” and said police had acted legally in response to “illegal actions of brutal criminals.” The protests on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue have continued nightly for the past year, with demonstrators calling for the resignation of the government over alleged election rigging, pro-Russian policies, and restrictive civil society legislation. The ruling Georgian Dream party denied pursuing Russian interests, asserting that recent laws served public welfare.   With inputs from BBC

Thousands of people protested across Croatia on Sunday against a rising far-right movement following a series of incidents that heightened ethnic and political tensions. Demonstrations under the banner “United against fascism” took place in four major cities, including the capital Zagreb. Protesters chanted “we are all antifascists” and called on authorities to curb far-right groups and their frequent use of pro-fascist symbols linked to Croatia’s World War II pro-Nazi puppet state, which ran concentration camps where tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma, and antifascist Croats were killed. A protest declaration said, “We will not agree to treating national minorities as a provocation or to a form of patriotism that draws from the darkest chapter of our history.” Journalist Maja Sever addressed the crowd in Zagreb, saying, “All that has been happening around us is very dangerous. You have shown you will not be quiet but that we will fight for a democratic society.” Counter-gatherings by young men in black occurred in Rijeka and Zadar, where they shouted insults and threw firecrackers and red paint at protesters, according to the HRT public broadcaster. Incidents in November targeted ethnic Serb cultural events in Zagreb and Split, raising fears of ethnic violence decades after the 1991-95 Serb-Croat war. Extremists also directed attacks at liberal groups, politicians, and foreign workers, often using the Nazi-era Ustasha salute “For the homeland — Ready!” Iva Davorija, organizer of the Zadar march, said, “They are throwing smoke bombs, firecrackers, and threatening violence, raising their right hand in the air and shouting the slogan. They are doing this freely.” Croatia’s political shift to the right began after Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s conservative party formed a coalition with a far-right party following last year’s parliamentary election, excluding an ethnic Serb party from government for the first time in years. The trend intensified after a July concert by right-wing singer Marko Perkovic, known as Thompson, who frequently uses the World War II-era slogan in his songs. Despite bans in some European cities, he remains highly popular in Croatia. Prime Minister Plenkovic denied ignoring far-right extremism and neo-fascist hate speech, accusing leftist opponents of exaggerating the problem and deepening divisions. Croatia, formerly part of Communist Yugoslavia, joined NATO in 2009 and the European Union in 2013, following a series of nationalist wars in the 1990s that left over 10,000 people dead.  

Ukrainian naval drones have targeted two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, signaling an escalation in Kyiv’s efforts to disrupt Moscow’s war funding. The tankers, identified by Turkish authorities as the Kairos and Virat—both Gambian-flagged—were struck off the Turkish coast on Friday, with the Virat reportedly hit again on Saturday. No casualties were reported. BBC-verified footage shows waterborne drones speeding toward the vessels before detonating, sending flames and thick black smoke into the air. Both ships are part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” a network of aging tankers used to bypass Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The targeted vessels are on lists of sanctioned ships according to London Stock Exchange data. Sources told BBC Ukrainian that Ukraine deployed Sea Baby naval drones, produced by its security services (SBU). Turkish authorities assisted the vessels, releasing footage of boats attempting to extinguish the fire on the Kairos. The attacks are widely seen as a warning to any ship transporting Russian oil in the Black Sea, suggesting they may face direct strikes in addition to sanctions. Separately, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium halted oil loading in Novorossiysk after an overnight unmanned boat attack caused significant damage to a mooring point. Russia, Kazakhstan, and Western firms including ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell are stakeholders in the consortium. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that a delegation led by security official Rustem Umerov is en route to the United States to continue negotiations aimed at ending the war. Umerov succeeds chief of staff Andriy Yermak, who resigned following an anti-corruption investigation. The Ukrainian delegation is expected to meet U.S. officials in Florida, while former U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, will conduct talks in Moscow next week. Source: BBC

Thousands of protesters rallied in the western German city of Giessen on Saturday as the far-right Alternative for Germany prepared to launch its new youth organization. Some demonstrators clashed with police, who used pepper spray and later water cannons to disperse blockades. Police said stones were thrown at officers at one site, prompting the use of pepper spray. In another area, around 2,000 protesters refused to clear a road, leading authorities to deploy water cannons. The founding convention of the new AfD youth wing, expected to be named Generation Germany, was scheduled to take place at the Giessen convention center but had not begun two hours after its planned start. The group replaces the Young Alternative, an earlier youth organization formally cut off by the party and dissolved in March. AfD, which won more than 20 percent of the vote in February’s national election and is now the main opposition party, intends to keep tighter control over the new body. The Young Alternative had been classified as a right-wing extremist group by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, a label also applied to AfD itself before being suspended pending a legal challenge. A Cologne court last year upheld the extremist designation for the Young Alternative, citing its promotion of an ethnically defined German identity, agitation against migrants and asylum seekers and ties with extremist movements, including the Identitarian Movement. A higher court ended the appeal process in June after confirming the group’s dissolution. Germany’s political parties typically maintain youth branches that are often more ideological than the main organizations. It remains unclear whether AfD’s new group will differ significantly from its predecessor. Kevin Dorow, a delegate from Schleswig-Holstein who was previously active in the Young Alternative, said the new organization aims to continue its mission by attracting and training young people for future roles within the party. He said he had not seen a “drift in a radical direction” in the previous youth wing. AfD promotes itself as an anti-establishment party amid declining public trust in traditional politics. It first entered the national parliament in 2017, propelled by discontent over large-scale migration in the mid-2010s, and continues to campaign heavily on restricting migration while tapping into broader frustrations across the country.  

Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv and surrounding areas killed at least three people early Saturday, local authorities said, just hours before a new round of peace negotiations was expected to begin amid growing international efforts to end the war. The Kyiv City Military Administration said two people died in attacks on the capital. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 29 others were injured, adding that debris from intercepted drones damaged residential buildings and caused power outages in the western part of the city. In the wider Kyiv region, which surrounds the capital, a separate combined drone and missile assault killed one woman and left eight others wounded, according to regional police. The latest strikes came as Ukrainian negotiators prepared to meet U.S. officials this weekend, an official from the presidential administration said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions. A U.S. delegation is expected to travel to Moscow next week for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. U.S. President Donald Trump last week released a 28-point plan to end the nearly four-year conflict. The proposal was seen as heavily favorable to Russia, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to quickly engage with U.S. negotiators. European leaders have also moved to influence the process, worried about the implications for regional security. Trump said Tuesday the plan had been refined and that envoy Steve Witkoff would travel to Moscow for talks with Putin, while Army Secretary Dan Driscoll would meet Ukrainian officials. He added that he may meet both Putin and Zelenskyy at a later stage if negotiations advance. Zelenskyy on Friday announced the resignation of his chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who also served as Ukraine’s top negotiator, after anti-corruption investigators searched Yermak’s residence. The unprecedented search at the highest level of government has put pressure on Zelenskyy, raising concerns that Kyiv’s negotiating strategy could face disruption at a critical moment as the United States pushes for a peace agreement.