United News of Bangladesh

A suicide bomber in Syria on Sunday detonated himself inside a church filled with people, killing at least nine, Syrian state media reported. The explosion in Dweil’a in the outskirts of Damascus took place as people were praying inside the Mar Elias Church. SANA, citing the Health Ministry said that at least 15 others were wounded. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says there were 30 people wounded and killed, but did not give exact numbers. Some local media reported that children were among the casualties. The attack was the first of its kind in Syria in years, and comes as Damascus under its de facto Islamist rule is trying to win the support of minorities. As President Ahmad al-Sharaa struggles to exert authority across the country, there have been concerns about the presence of sleeper cells of extremist groups in the war-torn country. No group immediately claimed responsibility Sunday, but the Syrian Interior Ministry said an extremist from the Islamic State group entered the church, fired at the people there before detonating himself with an explosives vest, echoing some witness testimonies. A witness who identified himself as Rawad told The Associated Press he saw the attacker who was accompanied by two others who fled as he was driving near the church. “He was shooting at the church … he then went inside the church and blew himself up,” he said. Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the attack, calling it a terrorist attack. “This cowardly act goes against the civic values that brings us together,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “We will to back down from our commitment to equal citizenship … and we also affirm the state’s pledge to exert all its efforts to combat criminal organizations and to protect society from all attacks threatening its safety.” Security forces and first-responders rushed to the church. Panicked survivors wailed, as one lady fell to her knees and burst into tears. A photo circulated by Syrian state media SANA showed the church's pews covered in debris and blood.  

Tianjin Light Industry Vocational Technical College delivers top-tier education, producing graduates renowned for their virtue, skills, and abilities. Their excellence has garnered widespread praise from employers, contributing to an impressive employment rate exceeding 95%. As part of the “China Up Close: Tianjin Tour,” journalists from various countries recently visited the institution. The visit was co-hosted by China Global Television Network (CGTN) and the Tianjin Municipal People's Government. Tianjin Light Industry Vocational Technical College, with approximately 11,000 students and over 500 staff, is recognised as a key vocational institution in China, its President Li Yunmei told journalists.  

Gulf nations, which host several US military installations, have heightened their security posture after US airstrikes on Iran, raising fears of a broader regional conflict. Bahrain has instructed 70 percent of its government workforce to operate remotely until further notice. “In light of recent developments in the regional security situation, we urge citizens and residents to use main roads only when necessary to maintain public safety and to allow the relevant authorities to use the roads efficiently,” Bahrain’s Interior Ministry posted on X. US bases ‘not strength but greatest vulnerability’: IRGC Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, warned that the possibility of open warfare between the US and Iran could have devastating consequences for the region. “While the war has so far been contained in direct hostilities between Israel and Iran, direct US involvement is a critical threshold that risks dragging the Gulf states – notably Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, which host large US military facilities – into the conflict,” he said. With inputs from Al Jazeera

China has strongly condemned the U.S. attacks on Iran and the bombing of nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson has said. The spokesperson made the remarks on Sunday when asked to comment on U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that the United States carried out strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran, reports CGTN. The actions of the U.S. seriously violate the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law and have exacerbated tensions in the Middle East, the spokesperson said. China also called on the parties to the conflict—particularly Israel—to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible, ensure the safety of civilians, and engage in dialogue and negotiations. China stands ready to work with the international community to pool efforts, uphold justice, and work toward restoring peace and stability in the Middle East, the spokesperson added.

The United States’ attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has drawn sharp global reaction, with international leaders and humanitarian agencies calling for de-escalation, renewed diplomacy, and respect for international law. Several Arab countries have swiftly issued statements expressing concern and urging de-escalation. Oman, which had been acting as a mediator in nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran, issued a strong condemnation of the strikes. The Gulf state said it “expresses deep concern, denunciation and condemnation of the escalation resulting from the direct air strikes launched by the United States”. Saudi Arabia, a key regional ally of the US, denounced “the violation of Iran’s sovereignty and stresses the need for restraint”, while calling on the international community “to redouble efforts in these extremely sensitive circumstances to reach a political solution”. Qatar’s foreign ministry also reacted with alarm, stating that the rising “dangerous tensions will lead to disastrous repercussions at the regional and international levels.” It added that it “hopes that all parties will exercise wisdom and restraint at this time.” Egypt echoed similar concerns, warning against "the dangers of the region sliding into further chaos and tension," and emphasized that "political solutions and diplomatic negotiations, not a military solution, are the only way out of the crisis". Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun expressed grave concern, stating that "the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities raises the level of fear of an escalation of tensions that would threaten security and stability in more than one region and country". European leaders also expressed deep concern over the consequences of the strike warning against further escalation in the Middle East. European Council President Antonio Costa urged “respect for international law and nuclear safety” in light of the developments. “Diplomacy remains the only way to bring peace and security to the Middle East region. Too many civilians will once again be the victims of a further escalation,” Costa said, adding that he is alarmed by the latest developments. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed similar sentiments, stating, “Stability must be the priority” and called for “Iran to engage in a credible diplomatic solution.”“The negotiating table is the only place to end this crisis,” she said. Germany’s Chancellor Merz has also called on Tehran to resume talks. A German government spokesperson said Merz urged Iran to immediately re-enter nuclear negotiations with the United States so a diplomatic resolution can be achieved. Iran, however, rejected the notion that it had walked away from diplomacy. In a social media post, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi questioned, “How can Iran return to something it never left, let alone blew up?” Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned of “irreversible consequences” if the situation spirals into a wider war. Police disperse unsuccessful candidates of teacher registration exam “The intensification and spread of major military operations in the Middle East risk engulfing the region – and the world – in a war with irreversible consequences,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement. “The world cannot absorb limitless war. Upholding international humanitarian law is not a choice – it is an obligation. Civilians must be spared from the conduct of hostilities,” she said. Spoljaric noted that the ICRC has delegations in both Iran and Israel and is scaling up operations to meet rising humanitarian needs.“[However], no humanitarian response can substitute for political will to prioritise peace, stability and human life,” she added. In the UK, Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds confirmed that Britain was informed ahead of the strike but was not asked to participate or allow the use of its Diego Garcia base. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who earlier endorsed the US move, is set to consult with allies. “Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon,” Starmer had said. The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also joined the chorus urging restraint. “Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, as it would be a threat to international security,” she said in a post on X. “I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation. EU Foreign Ministers will discuss the situation tomorrow,” she added. Source: with inputs from BBC, Al Jazeera

Israel 's military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, and announced it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks. The prospect of a wider war threatened, too. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on U.S. vessels and warships in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins Israel’s military campaign against Iran. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the U.S. The U.S. ambassador to Israel announced the U.S. has begun “assisted departure flights,” the first such flights from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza. Inside Iran, smoke rose from an area near a mountain in Isfahan, where the province’s deputy governor for security affairs, Akbar Salehi, confirmed the Israeli strikes damaged the facility but caused no casualties. The target was a centrifuge production site, Israel's military said. Isfahan was also hit in the first 24 hours of the war as part of Israel's goal to destroy Iran's nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the latest attack. Iran again launched drones and missiles at Israel but there were no immediate reports of significant damage. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity under army guidelines to brief reporters, called it a “small barrage” that was largely intercepted by Israel's defenses. The official estimated that Israel's military has taken out more than 50% of Iran's launchers. “We're making it harder for them to fire toward Israel,” he said. “Having said all that, I want to say the Iranian regime obviously still has capabilities.” Iran launches dozens of drones towards Israel The Israeli military’s chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, later said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told the army to prepare for a “prolonged campaign." Iran says US military involvement would be ‘dangerous’ U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing active U.S. military involvement in the war. On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said “I think that it would be very, very dangerous for everyone.” He spoke on the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Turkey. Barring a commando raid or even a nuclear strike, Iran’s underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered out of reach to all but America’s “bunker-buster” bombs. Trump said he would put off his decision on military involvement for up to two weeks. The war erupted June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 722 people, including 285 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,500 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. One Tehran resident, Nasrin, writhed in her hospital bed as she described how a blast threw her against a wall in her apartment. “I’ve had five surgeries. I think I have nothing right here that is intact,” she said Saturday. Another patient, Shahram Nourmohammadi, said he had been making deliveries when “something blew up right in front of me” at an intersection. A number of Iranians fled the country. “Everyone is leaving Tehran right now,” said one who did not give his name after crossing into Armenia. Iran has retaliated by firing more than 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Israel’s multitiered air defenses have shot down most of them, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Erdogan warns against ‘new sykes-picot order’ Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons program but has never acknowledged it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel’s military operation will continue “for as long as it takes” to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missile arsenal. No date set for new talks While talks in Geneva on Friday failed to produce a breakthrough, Iran's foreign minister said he was open to further dialogue. He emphasized that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the U.S. while Israel continues to attack. No date was set for a new round of talks. For many Iranians, updates remained difficult. Internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks.org said Saturday that limited internet access had again “collapsed.” A nationwide internet shutdown has been in place for several days. More attacks on Iranian military commandersIsrael's defense minister said the military killed a paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commander who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing 20-month war in Gaza. Israeli strikes kill over 400 Iranians, injure thousands as conflict escalates Iranian officials did not immediately confirm Saeed Izadi's death, but the Qom governor's office said there had been an attack on a four-story apartment building and local media reported two people had been killed. Israel also said it killed the commander of the Quds Force's weapons transfer unit, who it said was responsible for providing weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas. Behnam Shahriyari was killed while traveling in western Iran, the military said. Iran threatens head of UN nuclear watchdog Iranian leaders say IAEA chief Rafael Grossi's statements about the status of Iran’s nuclear program prompted Israel’s attack. On Saturday, a senior adviser for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei, Ali Larijani, said on social media, without elaboration, that Iran would make Grossi “pay” once the war is over. Grossi, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, on Friday warned against attacks on Iran’s nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. “In case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity,” Grossi said, adding: “This is the nuclear site in Iran where the consequences could be most serious.” Israel has not targeted Iran’s nuclear reactors, instead focusing strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country’s Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60% and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Iran has insisted on its right to enrich uranium — at lower levels — in recent talks over its nuclear program. But Trump, like Israel, has demanded Iran end its enrichment program altogether.

Director of US National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who in March told a Senate Committee that Iran was not pursuing nuclear weapons, has now revised her position. After US President Donald Trump publicly challenged her claim, Gabbard blamed the media for misrepresenting her remarks. She now says she believes Iran could develop nuclear weapons "within weeks." Iran launches new missile barrage on Israel; Tel Aviv warns of prolonged war President Trump has repeatedly asserted that Iran possesses a “tremendous amount of material” and could produce a weapon in a matter of weeks—if not weeks, then months—and emphasized that the United States cannot allow that to happen, reports BBC. On Thursday, Trump said he would decide within two weeks whether the US should participate in strikes against Iran. He also stated that Iran has a “maximum” of two weeks to reach an agreement with the US, indicating he may act before that deadline expires.  

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has called on the Iranian people to stay resolute in the face of escalating tensions. “If the enemy senses that you fear them, they won’t let go of you,” he said in a message posted on X. He added, “Continue the very behavior that you have had up to this day; continue this behavior with strength.” His statement comes amid heightened conflict following a barrage of Iranian missile attacks that injured more than 240 people and damaged a key hospital in southern Israel. The strikes also hit residential areas near Tel Aviv. Although most injuries were minor, Israel’s Health Ministry reported four people in serious condition. Over 70 of the wounded were at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, where an older surgical building suffered a direct hit. In retaliation, Israel carried out a strike on Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor—an element of its nuclear infrastructure. The Israeli military said the operation was intended to disable components involved in potential plutonium production. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant placed direct blame on Ayatollah Khamenei for the attack, declaring, “The military has been instructed and understands that for us to meet our objectives, this man must no longer remain alive.” According to U.S. officials, President Donald Trump had earlier blocked an Israeli plan to assassinate Khamenei. Israel issues threat to Iran’s top leader after missile barrage injures over 200 Iran’s missile and drone attacks—now numbering over 400 missiles and hundreds of drones—were launched in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes that began last Friday, which targeted Iranian military sites and personnel linked to its nuclear program. A U.S.-based Iranian rights organization reported that at least 639 people have been killed in Iran during the current conflict, including 263 civilians. Israel has confirmed at least 24 deaths and hundreds of injuries on its side. Despite Israel’s advanced air defense system, a missile hit Soroka Hospital shortly after warning sirens were activated. The hospital has since limited its services to emergency cases. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly condemned the attack, stating, “We will exact a full price from the tyrants in Tehran.” Iran, meanwhile, said there was no radiation threat following the Israeli strike on the Arak reactor, noting that the facility had been evacuated beforehand. Tehran also dismissed renewed U.S. calls to abandon its nuclear ambitions, maintaining that its program is for peaceful purposes—even as it continues enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels. Israel has previously struck other critical Iranian sites, including those in Natanz, Tehran, and Isfahan, and has been linked to the targeted killings of senior military officials and nuclear scientists. Source: BBC

Former US President Barack Obama has cautioned that the United States is edging dangerously close to becoming an autocracy, pointing to a decline in democratic norms and institutions. Speaking at a charity event in Connecticut on Tuesday, Obama made a thinly veiled criticism of Donald Trump, referencing threats to the rule of law, judicial independence, and the right to protest. “If you follow regularly what is said by those who are in charge of the federal government right now, there is a weak commitment to what we understood — and not just my generation, at least since World War II — our understanding of how a liberal democracy is supposed to work,” he said. Obama warned the country is nearing the point of undermining its own democratic foundations, reports the Telegraph.  “We’re not there yet completely, but I think that we are dangerously close to normalising behavior like that. And we need people both outside government and inside government saying, ‘Let’s not go over that cliff because it’s hard to recover.’” Speaking alongside historian and vocal Trump critic Heather Cox Richardson, the former president emphasized that democracy relies on government employees and the Justice Department taking their constitutional oaths seriously. “It requires them to take that oath seriously, and when that isn’t happening, we start drifting into something that is not consistent with American democracy,” he said. “It is consistent with autocracies. It is consistent with Hungary under Orban.” August 5 to be a public holiday to mark uprising day: Adviser Farooki His remarks come in the wake of a national uproar over Trump’s immigration crackdown, which triggered widespread protests and led to the detention of several Democratic officials by federal agents. This marks the second time in recent months that Obama has publicly criticised Trump administration policies. Back in March, he voiced alarm over government actions targeting universities and law firms. “That kind of behaviour is contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans,” he said. During his Connecticut appearance, Obama also critiqued liberals for becoming “comfortable in their righteousness” during his presidency, cautioning that their values are now facing serious challenges.

The world remains in suspense over whether the United States will strike Iran’s nuclear sites, as President Donald Trump continues to keep his intentions closely guarded. "I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," Trump said on the White House lawn yesterday when asked if the US was moving closer to launching an attack. Following his remarks, multiple reports indicated that Trump has approved military plans for a potential strike but is currently holding off. The delay appears to hinge on whether Iran will agree to abandon its nuclear programme. Iranian missiles hit Israeli hospital and stock exchange However, Iran’s mission to the United Nations has dismissed any prospect of negotiations under such pressure. In a statement, it said Iran does not "negotiate under duress". KT McFarland, Trump’s former national security adviser, told US media that the president is likely to wait until the last possible moment to make a final decision. But with no clear external deadline in place, observers remain uncertain when—or if—that decision will come. Source: BBC